City Leader Leading Recovery Work at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero

The local leader of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and widespread destruction caused by the catastrophe.

Speaking on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”

Several people from the town are confirmed dead, but the mayor mentioned hearing reports of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he added.

“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

Solomon stated that Black River, located in the severely affected south-western region of St Elizabeth, is without water and electricity, and the majority of structures have had their roofs. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with over half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the personal impact of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.

Solomon believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he says, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.

The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an flyover of the region showing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been lost.

“This will be a massive task to rebuild this historic town. But while it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed local media.

“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.