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

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, the mayor described riding out the intense storm at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from Black River are reported to have died, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation challenges.

“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

Solomon explained that the town, located in the hard-hit south-western region of St Elizabeth, is without water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as under water, with over half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.

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

“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

The mayor believes that it will take millions of local currency to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he says, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to get the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can get aid in. The majority 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 says.

National leadership has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the region revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a massive task to restore this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it emerging more resilient and better,” he informed local media.

“It will be accomplished. So maintain the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.