🔗 Share this article

This local leader of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous flooding and widespread destruction wrought by the disaster.

Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor recalled enduring the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.

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

Five individuals from the town are reported to have died, but the mayor noted hearing reports of additional deaths that are still being verified due to communication and travel difficulties.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding 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 second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and electricity, and most structures have had their roofing. One official previously characterized the town as under water, with more than half a million inhabitants without power. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to salvage their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“My vehicle 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 securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.

The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's annihilation. At present, he says, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.

National leadership has witnessed the devastation personally, with an aerial tour of the region showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a massive task to restore this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.