Mayor Guiding Recovery Efforts at Storm Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This mayor of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense storm surges and widespread devastation caused by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.
“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from the town are reported to have died, but the mayor noted hearing reports of additional deaths that are still being verified due to communication and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any further, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
Solomon stated that Black River, located in the severely affected southwest parish of the area, is without running water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofs. An authority previously described the town as flooded, with more than half a million inhabitants without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the disaster.
“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.
Solomon believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he says, the main goal is clearing blocked routes, which have cut off 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 impacted negatively so they won’t be able to offer goods to individuals who are in need at this time,” he says.
National leadership has seen the damage first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed local media.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
