City Leader Leading Recovery Work at Storm Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This local leader of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has shared the monstrous flooding and widespread destruction caused by the disaster.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he stated. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the prime minister classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from Black River are reported dead, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of other deaths that are still being verified due to communication and travel difficulties.
“Storm Melissa arrived around eight in the morning and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
The mayor stated that Black River, located in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and the majority of structures have had their roofs. One official previously described the town as under water, with more than half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.
Solomon estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he says, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.
“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has witnessed the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
