City Leader Leading Recovery Efforts at Storm 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 storm surges and extensive destruction wrought by the disaster.
Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor explained that the town, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and most structures have had their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now concentrating on working to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.
“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing went, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he says, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have cut off the town.
“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get aid in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable 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 region revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a enormous task to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.
