Mayor Leading Rebuilding Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero
This mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the intense storm at an emergency response center.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader designated this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from the town are reported dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel difficulties.
“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary moment for us.”
The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the hard-hit south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofing. One official earlier described the town as flooded, with over half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as fire, law enforcement, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that people 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 explains.
The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he says, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.
“Efforts are underway to clear the major thoroughfares 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 offer goods to persons who are in need at this time,” he says.
National leadership has witnessed the damage personally, with an flyover of the region revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous task to rebuild this historic town. But while it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he told reporters.
“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
