City Leader Leading Recovery Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
The mayor of the town of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense flooding and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.
Speaking on the traumatic experience, the mayor described enduring the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.
“The entire town of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”
Several people from the town are reported dead, but Solomon mentioned hearing reports of other fatalities 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 battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any further, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor stated that the town, located in the severely affected southwest region of the area, is lacking water and power, and most buildings have had their roofing. One official previously described the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
He is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the pain that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he says.
Solomon believes that it will take millions of local currency to restore Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes 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 need at this time,” he says.
The prime minister has seen the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
