City Leader Leading Rebuilding Work at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
The mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.
Speaking on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.
“Our community of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader 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 transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
Solomon stated that the town, located in the severely affected southwest parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofing. An authority previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says Solomon.
He is now focused on trying to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.
The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to get the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.
The prime minister has witnessed the devastation personally, with an aerial tour of the region revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.
“This will be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it rising more resilient and better,” he told local media.
“It will be accomplished. So maintain the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.
