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The local leader of the town of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.

Speaking on the traumatic experience, the mayor recalled riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor noted hearing reports of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel difficulties.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any further, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a terrifying experience for us.”

Solomon stated that Black River, located in the severely affected south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofing. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their houses and attempting to salvage their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

The mayor is now focused on trying to help 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 do understand the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus 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 Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can get aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in need at this time,” he adds.

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

“It is going to be a massive task to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed local media.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.