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This local leader of the town of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, the mayor recalled riding out the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.

“Our community of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from the town are reported to have died, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and continued 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 water at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying moment for us.”

The mayor stated that the town, located in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and most structures have had their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as flooded, with more than half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to salvage their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.

He is now focused on working to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I fully grasp the pain that people are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most vulnerable at this point,” he says.

The mayor believes that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he states, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to get the main roads and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this moment,” he says.

National leadership has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the area showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a massive task to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it emerging stronger and improved,” he told local media.

“It will be accomplished. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.