City Leader Leading Rebuilding Efforts at Storm Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and widespread devastation caused by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon described riding out the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Five individuals from Black River are confirmed to have died, but Solomon noted hearing reports of additional deaths that are still being verified due to communication and transportation challenges.
“Storm Melissa arrived around eight in the morning and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary moment for us.”
Solomon stated that Black River, situated in the hard-hit south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofing. One official earlier described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to salvage their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the most vulnerable, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.
The mayor believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild the community after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have cut off the town.
“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. The majority 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 moment,” he says.
The prime minister has witnessed the damage personally, with an flyover of the region showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a enormous task to rebuild Black River. But although it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and improved,” he informed reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
