Mayor Guiding Rebuilding Work at Storm Melissa's Epicenter
This mayor of the town of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has shared the immense storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, the mayor described riding out the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of this area is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that are still being verified due to communication and travel difficulties.
“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That 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 rising, it was a scary experience for us.”
Solomon explained that the town, located in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and the majority of structures have had their roofing. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to rescue their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.
The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing went, so I fully grasp the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
Solomon estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. At present, he says, the main goal is clearing 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. The majority of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to offer goods to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.
The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the area showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he told reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
