Mayor Leading Recovery Work at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero
The mayor of the town of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense flooding and extensive destruction wrought by the disaster.
Speaking on the traumatic ordeal, the mayor recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.
“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from the town are reported to have died, but Solomon mentioned hearing reports of other fatalities that are still being verified due to communication and travel difficulties.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.
“We got up to 16ft of water at the response center. That was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”
The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofing. An authority previously characterized the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their houses and trying to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says Solomon.
He is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.
“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing went, so I fully grasp the pain that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of local currency to restore the community after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the priority is removing debris from 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 relief supplies 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 damage personally, with an flyover of the region revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a enormous task to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he told reporters.
“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.
