City Leader Guiding Rebuilding Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Epicenter
This local leader of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous flooding and extensive destruction wrought by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the traumatic experience, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.
“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction 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 noted hearing reports of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel difficulties.
“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.
“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the emergency operating centre. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise 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 explained that the town, located in the severely affected south-western region of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and the majority of structures have lost their roofs. An authority earlier characterized the town as under water, with over half a million inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to rescue their belongings.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.
He is now concentrating on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.
“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. At present, he states, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“Efforts are underway to get 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 need at this time,” he says.
The prime minister has witnessed the damage first-hand, with an flyover of the region showing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous task to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it rising stronger and better,” he informed reporters.
“It will be accomplished. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.
