Mayor Guiding Recovery Work at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and widespread devastation caused by the disaster.
Speaking on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from the town are reported dead, but the mayor noted receiving word of other fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of water at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”
Solomon explained that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and most buildings have lost their roofing. An authority previously described the town as flooded, with over half a million inhabitants without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their homes and trying to salvage their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.
The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.
“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. The roofing went, so I do understand the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.
The mayor believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he says, the main goal is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this moment,” he says.
The prime minister has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to restore this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
