Mayor Leading Recovery Work at Storm Melissa's Ground Zero
This local leader of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous flooding and widespread destruction wrought by the disaster.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor described enduring the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.
“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Five individuals from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that are still being verified due to communication and travel challenges.
“Storm Melissa came around eight in the morning and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
Solomon explained that the town, located in the hard-hit south-western parish of the area, is without running water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as flooded, with over half a million inhabitants without power. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue 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 firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” notes the mayor.
He is now concentrating on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing aid relief for the most vulnerable at this time,” he says.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he says, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can get aid in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to individuals who are in need at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“This will be a massive task to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and improved,” he informed reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
