This mayor of the town of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has detailed the immense flooding and widespread destruction wrought by the catastrophe.
Speaking on the traumatic ordeal, the mayor described enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.
“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he stated. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as ground zero.”
Several people from Black River are reported to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and transportation difficulties.
“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not increase any more, because we were on the upper level, and frankly, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary moment for us.”
The mayor stated that the town, located in the hard-hit southwest parish of the area, is lacking running water and power, and most buildings have lost their roofing. One official earlier described the town as flooded, with more than half a million residents without power. A mudslide has blocked the main roads of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their houses and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become extremely difficult because every one of the town’s transport and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” notes the mayor.
The mayor is now focused on working to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the personal impact of the devastation.
“The mayor's car 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 aid relief for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.
The mayor estimates that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he states, the priority 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 deliver aid in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to offer goods to individuals who are in dire straits at this moment,” he adds.
The prime minister has seen the devastation first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region revealing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been lost.
“This will be a enormous task to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising more resilient and improved,” he informed reporters.
“We will get it done. So maintain the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.
