City Leader Guiding Recovery Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This local leader of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.
Speaking on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”
Several people from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor noted receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around eight in the morning and continued for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment 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 experience for us.”
Solomon stated that the town, located in the severely affected southwest region of the area, is without water and power, and most structures have had their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with more than half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their houses and trying to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.
“My vehicle was completely covered by water. My roof was lost, so I fully grasp the pain that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he says, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.
“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But although it is damaged, we can envision a future of it emerging stronger and improved,” he informed local media.
“It will be accomplished. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
