Mayor Leading Recovery Efforts at Storm Melissa's Epicenter

This mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread destruction wrought by the disaster.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon described enduring the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel challenges.

“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We got 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 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 the town, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have had their roofs. One official earlier described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where streets have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as fire, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

He is now concentrating on trying to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

The mayor estimates that it will take millions of local currency to restore the community after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the main goal is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and critical lateral roads 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 dire straits at this time,” he says.

National leadership has seen the devastation first-hand, 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 massive undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.

“It will be accomplished. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.