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This mayor of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous flooding and widespread devastation caused by the catastrophe.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon described enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from Black River are confirmed dead, but the mayor noted receiving word of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel challenges.

“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

“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 upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofs. One official earlier characterized the town as under water, with over 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.

Rescue efforts and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says Solomon.

He is now concentrating on working to help the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

The mayor estimates that it will take millions of local currency to restore the community after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he says, the priority is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get aid in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively 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 first-hand, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“This will be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it rising more resilient and improved,” he informed local media.

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