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This mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous flooding and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.

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

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

“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We got up to 4.8 metres of water at the response center. That was a frightening moment 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 rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of the area, is lacking water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have had their roofing. One official previously described the town as under water, with more than 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to salvage 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 firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.

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

“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

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

“Efforts are underway to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to persons who are in need at this time,” he says.

The prime minister has witnessed the damage first-hand, with an aerial tour of the area showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to rebuild this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he told local media.

“We will get it done. So maintain the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he affirmed.