🔗 Share this article

This mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the intense storm at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the prime minister designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Several people from Black River are reported dead, but Solomon noted receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation challenges.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.

“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

Solomon stated that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest region of St Elizabeth, is without water and electricity, and the majority of structures have lost their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as under water, with more than half a million inhabitants without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and trying to salvage their possessions.

Rescue efforts and damage assessments have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.

He is now concentrating on trying to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

The mayor estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s annihilation. For now, he states, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in need at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has witnessed the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and better,” he informed reporters.

“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.