City Leader Leading Recovery Work at Hurricane Melissa's Epicenter
The local leader of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and widespread destruction wrought by the disaster.
Speaking on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he said. “And that devastation is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from the town are confirmed dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other deaths that are still being verified due to communication and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor stated that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest region of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and most structures have had their roofing. One official previously described the town as under water, with more than 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been turned to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their houses and trying to salvage their possessions.
Rescue efforts and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.
The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take billions of local currency to restore Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he says, the main goal is removing debris from 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 get relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.
National leadership has seen the devastation personally, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.
“This will be a massive task to rebuild this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.
