Mayor Guiding Rebuilding Work at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero
This mayor of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the traumatic experience, the mayor described riding out the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.
“Our community of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but Solomon noted hearing reports of other deaths that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel difficulties.
“The hurricane came around eight in the morning and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of water at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary 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 terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor stated that Black River, located in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and power, and most buildings have lost their roofing. An authority previously described the town as flooded, with over half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been turned to muddy tracks. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to salvage their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.
He is now focused on trying to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was completely submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
The mayor estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this moment,” he says.
National leadership has seen the devastation personally, with an aerial tour of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.
