🔗 Share this article

This local leader of the town of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense flooding and extensive destruction caused by the catastrophe.

Speaking on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Several people from Black River are reported dead, but Solomon noted receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and transportation challenges.

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

“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest region of the area, is lacking water and electricity, and the majority of structures have had their roofing. One official earlier described the town as flooded, with over half a million residents without power. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven almost impossible because all the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.

The mayor is now concentrating on working to assist the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. My roof was lost, so I fully grasp the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.

The mayor believes that it will take millions of local currency to restore Black River after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to clear the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can get aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to offer goods to persons who are in need at this moment,” he says.

National leadership has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is damaged, we can vision a future of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he told reporters.

“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.