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This local leader of Black River – an area described as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense flooding and extensive devastation caused by the catastrophe.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon described 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 prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor noted receiving word of additional fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and travel difficulties.

“Storm Melissa arrived around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.

“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 frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, situated in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofs. An authority earlier described the town as under water, with more than half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of a nearby area, where roadways have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.

Rescue efforts and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

He is now focused on trying to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.

The mayor estimates that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild the community after Melissa’s annihilation. For now, he states, the priority is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in need at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the region revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a enormous task to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and better,” he told reporters.

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