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The mayor of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and widespread destruction wrought by the disaster.

Speaking on the harrowing ordeal, the mayor described enduring the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister designated this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from the town are confirmed dead, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel difficulties.

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

“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any further, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

The mayor explained that Black River, located in the severely affected southwest region of St Elizabeth, is without water and power, and most buildings have had their roofs. One official earlier characterized the town as flooded, with more than half a million inhabitants without power. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to salvage their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have become extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says the mayor.

The mayor is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the personal impact of the disaster.

“My vehicle was completely submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the pain that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to concentrate on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.

Solomon estimates that it will take millions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he says, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to individuals who are in need at this moment,” he adds.

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

“This will be a enormous undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and improved,” he informed reporters.

“It will be accomplished. So maintain the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.