City Leader Guiding Rebuilding Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This mayor of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and widespread devastation caused by the disaster.
Reflecting on the traumatic experience, the mayor recalled enduring the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader designated this area as ground zero.”
Several people from Black River are reported dead, but the mayor noted receiving word of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and transportation difficulties.
“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.
“We got up to 16ft of water at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”
Solomon stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and most buildings have lost their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.
“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.
Solomon believes that it will take millions of local currency to restore Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.
“We are now trying to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. Most 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 says.
National leadership has witnessed the damage personally, with an flyover of the area revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a massive task to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he told reporters.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
