🔗 Share this article

This local leader of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the disaster.

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”

Several people from Black River are reported to have died, but Solomon noted receiving word of additional deaths that are still being verified due to communication and travel difficulties.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, located in the severely affected southwest region of the area, is without running water and power, and most buildings have had their roofing. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with over half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their belongings.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.

“My vehicle was totally covered by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting aid relief for the most vulnerable at this point,” he says.

The mayor estimates that it will take millions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he states, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to clear the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can get aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.

The prime minister has seen the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the region revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and better,” he told reporters.

“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.