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The mayor of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.

Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.

“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he said. “And that devastation is so severe that the prime minister designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from the town are reported dead, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and transportation challenges.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.

“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”

Solomon stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and electricity, and most buildings have lost their roofs. One official previously described the town as under water, with more than half a million residents lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” notes the mayor.

The mayor is now concentrating on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

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

Solomon estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he says, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.

“This will be a massive task to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and better,” he told local media.

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