Mayor Guiding Recovery Work 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 detailed the immense flooding and widespread destruction wrought by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor described enduring the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.
“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he said. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”
Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but Solomon noted hearing reports of additional fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. That was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”
Solomon stated that the town, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and power, and the majority of buildings have had their roofs. An authority previously characterized the town as flooded, with over half a million inhabitants without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” notes the mayor.
He is now concentrating on working to assist the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to offer goods to individuals who are in need at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it emerging more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
