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The local leader of the town of Black River – an area described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the disaster.

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

“Our community of this area is devastated,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from Black River are confirmed dead, but the mayor noted hearing reports of other fatalities that are still being verified due to communication and transportation challenges.

“Storm Melissa came around eight in the morning and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.

“We got up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. It was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a terrifying experience for us.”

The mayor stated that Black River, situated in the severely affected south-western region of the area, is without running water and electricity, and most structures have lost their roofs. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their houses and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, police, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

He is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on getting assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.

Solomon estimates that it will take billions of local currency to restore the community after Melissa’s destruction. For now, he states, the main goal is clearing blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can get relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in need at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the region revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But although it is damaged, we can vision a future of it emerging stronger and improved,” he told reporters.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.