The mayor of Black River – a town that Jamaica’s prime minister called “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has described the monstrous storm surges and devastation the storm has wrought on its residents.
Speaking to the Guardian, Richard Solomon recounted the traumatic experience of riding out the Category 5 “storm of the century” at an emergency operating centre.
“The entire town of Black River is devastated,” he said. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.
Five people from Black River are confirmed dead, but Solomon says he has heard of other deaths, which he has not yet been able to confirm due to the challenges with communications and transportation.
“The hurricane came around eight in the morning and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain.
“We got up to 16ft (4.8 metres) of water at the [emergency operating] centre. That was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”
Solomon says Black River, which sits in the hard-hit south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without water and electricity and most buildings have lost their roof. One official earlier described the town as under water, with more than 500,000 residents without power. A landslide there has blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz, where the streets have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to salvage their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged”, says Solomon.
The mayor is now focused on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also negotiating the personal impact of the devastation.
“My vehicle was totally covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most vulnerable at this point,” he says.
Solomon estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. For now, he says, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have cut off the town.
“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in need at this time,” he says.
The prime minister, Andrew Holness, has seen the devastation first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.
“It is going to be a massive task to rebuild Black River, this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and better,” he told local media.
“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
