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This mayor of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and widespread destruction wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor described riding out the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction 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 the mayor mentioned receiving word of other deaths that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation challenges.

“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.

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

The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and power, and most structures have had their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 inhabitants without power. A landslide has blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to rescue their possessions.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have proven almost impossible because all the town’s transport and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

The mayor is now focused on working to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.

“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I fully grasp the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.

Solomon believes that it will take billions of local currency to restore the community after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he says, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver aid in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to offer goods to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he says.

The prime minister has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But while it is damaged, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and improved,” he informed local media.

“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.