Mayor Leading Recovery Work at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
The local leader of the town of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread destruction wrought by the disaster.
Reflecting on the harrowing experience, the mayor described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader designated this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor noted receiving word of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel challenges.
“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
The mayor stated that the town, situated in the severely affected south-western region of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofing. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents without power. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult 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 Solomon.
He is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
The mayor believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to clear the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads 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 offer goods to individuals who are in need at this time,” he adds.
National leadership has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region showing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a enormous task to rebuild Black River. But although it is damaged, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and improved,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.