City Leader Guiding Rebuilding Efforts at Storm Melissa's Ground Zero
The mayor of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread destruction wrought by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the harrowing experience, the mayor recalled riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”
Several people from Black River are confirmed dead, but Solomon mentioned hearing reports of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and transportation challenges.
“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of water at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor explained that the town, located in the hard-hit south-western parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and most buildings have lost their roofs. One official previously described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their houses and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now concentrating on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
The mayor believes that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is removing debris from 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. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area showing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.
“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 improved,” he told reporters.
“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.
