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This mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has detailed the immense flooding and widespread destruction caused by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of Black River is devastated,” he stated. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation challenges.

“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“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 rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that Black River, located in the severely affected south-western region of the area, is without water and power, and most structures have lost their roofs. One official earlier described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and trying to salvage their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

He is now focused on working to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“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 getting aid relief for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has seen the devastation personally, with an flyover of the area showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is damaged, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and better,” he told local media.

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