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The mayor of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.

Speaking on the traumatic ordeal, the mayor described riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.

“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

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

“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and continued for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he explained.

“We got up to 16ft of water at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest region of the area, is lacking running water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofs. An authority previously described the town as flooded, with over 500,000 inhabitants without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and trying to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now focused on working to assist the neediest residents, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he explains.

Solomon estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he says, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can get aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to offer goods to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.

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

“This will be a massive undertaking to restore this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and better,” he told local media.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he said.