City Leader Leading Rebuilding Work at Hurricane Melissa's Epicenter

The mayor of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and widespread destruction 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 this area is devastated,” he said. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from Black River are reported to have died, but the mayor noted hearing reports of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel challenges.

“The hurricane came around eight in the morning and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We got up to 16ft 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 upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected southwest region of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofs. An authority previously characterized the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because all the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the pain that people are feeling, 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 rebuild Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the main goal is clearing impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this moment,” he adds.

National leadership has witnessed the devastation personally, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“This will be a enormous undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is damaged, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and improved,” he informed local media.

“We will get it done. So maintain the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.