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This mayor of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is in ruins,” he said. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader designated this area as ground zero.”

Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel difficulties.

“Storm Melissa arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying 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 terrifying moment for us.”

Solomon stated that the town, located in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and power, and most buildings have lost their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as under water, with more than half a million residents without power. A landslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their houses and attempting to rescue their belongings.

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

The mayor is now concentrating on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. My roof went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.

The mayor believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild the community after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he says, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to clear the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.

National leadership has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an aerial tour of the area showing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“This will be a massive task to restore this historic town. But although it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed local media.

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