Mayor Leading Rebuilding Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
The local leader of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and widespread destruction caused by the disaster.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from Black River are reported dead, but the mayor noted receiving word of other fatalities that are still being verified due to communication and travel challenges.
“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary moment for us.”
Solomon stated that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and the majority of structures have lost their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now removing water from their homes and trying to rescue their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says Solomon.
The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. The roofing went, so I do understand the pain that people are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.
The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he says, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to offer goods to persons who are in need at this moment,” he says.
The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a massive task to rebuild this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it emerging more resilient and better,” he told reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
