Mayor Leading Rebuilding Work at Hurricane Melissa's Epicenter
This local leader of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has detailed the immense storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the traumatic experience, the mayor recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Five individuals from Black River are confirmed dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities 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 experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It 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 I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”
Solomon stated that the town, located in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and electricity, and the majority of structures have lost their roofs. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with over half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to rescue their possessions.
Rescue efforts and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.
He is now concentrating on working to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.
“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he says, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.
“Efforts are underway to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver 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 need at this moment,” he says.
The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been destroyed.
“This will be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But while it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.
“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.
