City Leader Leading Recovery Efforts at Storm Melissa's Worst-Hit Area
This local leader of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and widespread destruction caused by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon described riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.
“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the prime minister designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel challenges.
“The hurricane came around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of water at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any further, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”
Solomon stated that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofing. An authority earlier characterized the town as flooded, with more than half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their houses and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Rescue efforts and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.
He is now focused on working to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally covered by water. My roof was lost, so I fully grasp the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.
Solomon estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in need at this moment,” he adds.
National leadership has seen the damage personally, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“This will be a massive undertaking to rebuild this historic town. But while it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
