Mayor Guiding Recovery Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Worst-Hit Area

This mayor of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has shared the immense flooding and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon described riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he stated. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the national leader designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from Black River are reported dead, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation challenges.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he explained.

“We got up to 16ft of water at the response center. 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 rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor stated that the town, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and most buildings have lost their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as under water, with more than 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their homes and trying to salvage their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on getting assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.

The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to offer goods to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.

The prime minister has seen the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is damaged, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and improved,” he told local media.

“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.