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The mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.

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

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so catastrophic that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from the town are confirmed to have died, but the mayor noted hearing reports of other fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation challenges.

“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“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 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 stated that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest region of the area, is without running water and electricity, and most buildings have had their roofs. An authority previously described the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 inhabitants without power. A mudslide has obstructed the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to muddy tracks. Residents are now sweeping water from their homes and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes the mayor.

The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the neediest residents, while also dealing with the individual toll of the devastation.

“The mayor's car was totally submerged by water. My roof went, so I fully grasp the suffering that people are feeling, 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 millions of local currency to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he states, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying 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 severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.

The prime minister has witnessed the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing 80 to 90% of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is damaged, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed reporters.

“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he said.