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The mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.

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

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Several people from Black River are confirmed dead, but Solomon noted receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, situated in the hard-hit south-western region of the area, is without water and power, and the majority of structures have lost their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely submerged by water. My roof went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he says.

The mayor believes that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he states, the main goal is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off 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 dire straits at this moment,” he says.

National leadership has seen the devastation personally, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a enormous undertaking to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can envision a future of it emerging stronger and better,” he informed local media.

“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.