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This mayor of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous flooding and widespread destruction caused by the disaster.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.

“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Several people from the town are reported to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

Solomon explained that Black River, located in the hard-hit south-western region of the area, is lacking water and electricity, and most structures have had their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with more than half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and trying to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” notes Solomon.

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

“My vehicle was completely covered by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

The mayor estimates that it will take billions of local currency to restore Black River after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, 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.

The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the area showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is damaged, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.

“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.