Mayor Leading Recovery Work at Storm Melissa's Ground Zero
This local leader of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has shared the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the disaster.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Five individuals from Black River are reported dead, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel difficulties.
“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
The mayor stated that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest region of the area, is without running water and power, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofs. One official previously described the town as under water, with over half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to muddy tracks. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to rescue their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.
He is now focused on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.
“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.
Solomon estimates that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he says, the main goal is clearing 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 aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.
The prime minister has seen the devastation personally, with an flyover of the area showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“This will be a massive undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and improved,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.