This aid is additional to the £32m already announced by the UK government last week.

For every £1 donated by the UK public to the aid of the Caribbean, another £1 will be added through the Department for International Development’s (DFID) Aid Match scheme, funded from the international development budget. 

Secretary of state for international development Priti Patel said: “The overwhelming generosity of the UK public in times of crisis is one of the things that makes Britain truly great.

“This will help get water, food, shelter and power to those left devastated by Hurricane Irma,” she added.

The hurricane passed over the British territories of Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands on Wednesday night, and the UK islands of Turks and Caicos on Thursday evening.

Last week, Patel pledged to double the number of humanitarian experts in the region from four to eight. Further advisors are expected to arrive across the islands in the coming days.

DFID is also working with agencies across the affected region to plan how to rebuild and reconstruct damaged areas.

Mike Adamson, chief executive of British Red Cross, said: “Red Cross teams are on the ground now supporting people in shelters, providing first aid and doing whatever they can to help.”