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This local leader of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has detailed the monstrous flooding and extensive destruction wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon described riding out the intense storm at an emergency operating centre.

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

Several people from Black River are confirmed to have died, but the mayor mentioned hearing reports of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel challenges.

“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around several hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he added.

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

The mayor stated that the town, situated in the hard-hit southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and most buildings have had their roofing. An authority earlier characterized the town as under water, with more than 500,000 inhabitants without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their houses and attempting to salvage their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as firefighting, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.

He is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the personal impact of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that people are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on getting aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

Solomon believes that it will take billions of local currency to rebuild the community after Melissa’s destruction. At present, he states, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“Efforts are underway to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. Most of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this moment,” he says.

The prime minister has witnessed the devastation personally, with an flyover of the region showing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and better,” he informed reporters.

“We will get it done. So keep the positive outlook, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.