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This mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous flooding and widespread devastation caused by the disaster.

Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from the town are confirmed to have died, but Solomon noted hearing reports of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

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

“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any more, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor stated that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and power, and the majority of structures have had their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as under water, with more than 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.

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

“My vehicle was completely covered by water. My roof went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

Solomon estimates that it will take millions of local currency to rebuild the community after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he states, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares 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 provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region showing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a massive task to rebuild this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and improved,” he informed reporters.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he said.