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The mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous flooding and extensive destruction caused by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”

Several people from the town are confirmed to have died, but Solomon mentioned hearing reports of other fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

“The hurricane came around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“We got up to 4.8 metres of water at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying 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 scary experience for us.”

Solomon explained that Black River, located in the hard-hit south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and power, and the majority of buildings have had their roofing. An authority previously characterized the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to muddy tracks. Locals are now removing water from their homes and trying to rescue their belongings.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand 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 vulnerable at this point,” he explains.

Solomon believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he says, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in need at this moment,” he says.

National leadership has witnessed the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.

“This will be a massive task to restore Black River. But although it is damaged, we can envision a future of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.

“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.