City Leader Guiding Rebuilding Efforts at Storm Melissa's Ground Zero
This mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has shared the immense flooding and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.
Speaking on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so severe that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”
Several people from the town are reported to have died, but Solomon noted hearing reports of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel challenges.
“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor explained that Black River, located in the hard-hit south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without water and power, and most buildings have had their roofing. One official previously described the town as under water, with over half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide 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.
Rescue efforts and evaluations have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on working to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.
“My vehicle was completely covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this time,” he adds.
National leadership has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.
