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This mayor of the town of Black River – a community referred to as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has shared the monstrous flooding and widespread destruction caused by the disaster.

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

“The entire town of this area is devastated,” he said. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader designated this area as ground zero.”

Five individuals from Black River are confirmed dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and travel challenges.

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

“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the response center. It was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor stated that the town, located in the hard-hit south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofing. One official earlier described the town as under water, with more than half a million inhabitants without power. A mudslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Residents are now sweeping water from their houses and trying to rescue their possessions.

Rescue efforts and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because all the town’s transport and critical services such as fire, police, hospitals and grocery stores were “immensely damaged,” notes the mayor.

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

“The mayor's car was completely submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I fully grasp the pain that people are feeling, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

Solomon estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to rebuild Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he says, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to get the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to offer goods to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.

National leadership has witnessed the devastation personally, with an flyover of the region revealing 80 to 90% of roofs in the area had been lost.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking to rebuild Black River. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and better,” he informed local media.

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