City Leader Leading Recovery Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero
The mayor of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has detailed the immense flooding and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.
Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he stated. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from the town are reported dead, but Solomon noted receiving word of other deaths that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel challenges.
“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We got up to 4.8 metres of water at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
The mayor explained that Black River, located in the severely affected south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and power, and the majority of structures have had their roofing. An authority previously characterized the town as under water, with more than half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to rescue their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.
He is now concentrating on working to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the disaster.
“My vehicle was totally covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
Solomon believes that it will take millions of local currency to restore the community after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, 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 impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to individuals who are in need at this time,” he says.
The prime minister has witnessed the damage personally, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous undertaking to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.
