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This local leader of Black River – a community described as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa – has shared the monstrous storm surges and extensive devastation wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Richard Solomon recalled riding out the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency operating centre.

“The entire town of Black River is in ruins,” he said. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the national leader designated this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Five individuals from the town are reported to have died, but Solomon mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that are still being verified due to communication and travel challenges.

“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were battered with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he added.

“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the response center. That 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 rising, it was a terrifying experience for us.”

Solomon stated that the town, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of the area, is without water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have had their roofing. One official previously characterized the town as flooded, with over 500,000 residents without power. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to muddy tracks. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their belongings.

Rescue efforts and evaluations have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, law enforcement, medical centers and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on working to help the neediest residents, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“My vehicle was completely covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the pain that persons are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he says.

Solomon believes that it will take billions of local currency to restore the community after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, 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 supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they won’t be able to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

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

“It is going to be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it emerging stronger and better,” he informed local media.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he said.