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The local leader of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread devastation caused by the catastrophe.

Speaking on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane 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 classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals 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 challenges.

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

“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of water at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor stated that Black River, located in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofing. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to muddy tracks. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.

He is now focused on trying to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing went, so I do understand the pain that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

Solomon believes that it will take millions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, 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. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has witnessed the devastation personally, with an flyover of the region revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it emerging stronger and better,” he told local media.

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