Mayor Guiding Rebuilding Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Epicenter
This mayor of the town of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has detailed the monstrous flooding and widespread devastation wrought by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is devastated,” 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 the mayor mentioned receiving word of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.
“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.
“We experienced 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 increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
Solomon explained that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofing. An authority earlier characterized the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents without power. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where streets have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says Solomon.
He is now focused on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the pain that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
Solomon believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's annihilation. At present, he states, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, 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.
National leadership has witnessed the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“This will be a massive task to rebuild Black River. But although it is damaged, we can vision a future of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.
