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This mayor of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense storm surges and widespread destruction caused by the disaster.

Speaking on the traumatic experience, Richard Solomon described riding out the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.

“Our community of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”

Several people from the town are confirmed dead, but Solomon mentioned hearing reports of other deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel challenges.

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

“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, located in the hard-hit southwest region of the area, is without water and electricity, and the majority of structures have lost their roofing. One official earlier characterized the town as under water, with over half a million residents lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their houses and attempting to salvage their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the personal impact of the devastation.

“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

Solomon believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.

National leadership has seen the damage first-hand, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.

“This will be a massive task to rebuild this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and improved,” he informed reporters.

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