🔗 Share this article

This local leader of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has shared the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of this area is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from Black River are confirmed dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any further, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that Black River, situated in the hard-hit south-western region of St Elizabeth, is without water and power, and most buildings have lost their roofs. One official earlier characterized the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and trying to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as fire, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” notes Solomon.

He is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the personal impact of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.

The mayor believes that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he says, the main goal is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a enormous task to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he told reporters.

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