Mayor Leading Rebuilding Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Epicenter
This mayor of the town of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.
Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”
Five individuals from the town are reported to have died, but the mayor noted receiving word of additional fatalities that are still being verified due to communication and travel challenges.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of water at the response center. That was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”
Solomon explained that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest region of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and the majority of structures have lost their roofing. One official previously described the town as under water, with more than half a million residents lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.
He is now focused on working to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.
“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 key focus for me now is to focus on getting assistance for the most vulnerable 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 priority is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” 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.
