Mayor Leading Rebuilding Efforts at Storm 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 destruction wrought by the disaster.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.
“Our community of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”
Several people from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor noted hearing reports of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he explained.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying 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.”
The mayor explained that Black River, situated in the hard-hit south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without water and power, and the majority of structures have had their roofing. One official earlier characterized the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.
The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the disaster.
“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
Solomon believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he says, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.
“Efforts are underway to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in need at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to restore this historic town. But while it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
