🔗 Share this article

This local leader of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense flooding and extensive destruction caused by the disaster.

Speaking on the traumatic ordeal, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from the town are confirmed dead, but Solomon noted hearing reports of other fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel challenges.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”

Solomon explained that Black River, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and electricity, and the majority of structures have lost their roofing. An authority earlier described the town as flooded, with over half a million inhabitants without power. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways 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 become extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.

The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.

The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get aid 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 time,” he says.

The prime minister has witnessed the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.

“This will be a massive task to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and better,” he informed reporters.

“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.