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This local leader of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous flooding and extensive devastation wrought by the disaster.

Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “And that devastation is so severe that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from the town are reported to have died, but Solomon noted receiving word of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and transportation difficulties.

“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and continued 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 water at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any further, because we were on the upper level, 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 St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and electricity, and the majority of structures have had their roofs. One official previously described the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their homes and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.

The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.

“My vehicle was totally covered by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.

Solomon believes that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he says.

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

“This will be a enormous undertaking to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it emerging more resilient and improved,” he told reporters.

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