Mayor Leading Recovery Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero
The local leader of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and extensive destruction caused by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the harrowing experience, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of this area is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”
Several people from the town are confirmed to have died, but Solomon noted receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel challenges.
“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping 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.”
The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and the majority of structures have lost their roofing. One official earlier described the town as under water, with over half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Rescue efforts and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.
“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. My roof went, so I fully grasp the pain that persons are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
Solomon estimates that it will take millions of local currency to restore Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. For now, he says, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he says.
The prime minister has witnessed the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
