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This mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Speaking on the harrowing ordeal, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

Several people from Black River are reported to have died, but Solomon mentioned hearing reports of additional deaths that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.

“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the emergency operating centre. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”

Solomon stated that Black River, located in the hard-hit southwest region of the area, is lacking running water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofing. One official earlier characterized the town as under water, with over 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and trying to rescue their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.

The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.

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

Solomon estimates that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

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

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.

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