Mayor Leading Recovery Work at Storm Melissa's Ground Zero
This local leader of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous flooding and extensive devastation caused by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor described riding out the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from Black River are reported dead, but Solomon noted hearing reports of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around eight in the morning and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We got up to 4.8 metres of water at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any further, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
Solomon explained that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without water and power, and the majority of buildings have had their roofing. One official earlier characterized the town as under water, with more than 500,000 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 houses and trying to salvage their possessions.
Rescue efforts and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as fire, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.
“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. The roofing went, so I fully grasp the pain that people are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most vulnerable at this time,” he says.
The mayor believes that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. For now, he states, the main goal is clearing blocked routes, which have cut off the town.
“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can get aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this moment,” he says.
The prime minister has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the region revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is damaged, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and better,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
