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This local leader of the town of Black River – a community described as “the epicenter” for the devastating storm – has shared the immense flooding and extensive devastation caused by the disaster.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, the mayor recalled enduring the Category 5 hurricane at an emergency response center.

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

Five individuals from the town are reported to have died, but the mayor mentioned hearing reports of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.

“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and lasted for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he added.

“We got up to 4.8 metres of flooding at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were praying that it would not rise any more, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”

Solomon stated that the town, located in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and most structures have had their roofing. An authority previously characterized the town as flooded, with more than half a million residents lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and evaluations have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as firefighting, police, medical centers and grocery stores were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

He is now concentrating on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also dealing with the individual toll of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely submerged by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to concentrate on securing aid relief for the most vulnerable at this time,” he explains.

The mayor believes that it will take billions of Jamaican dollars to restore the community after the hurricane's destruction. For now, he says, the priority is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.

“We are now trying to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he adds.

National leadership has seen the devastation personally, with an aerial tour of the area showing the vast majority of buildings in the area had been destroyed.

“This will be a massive task to rebuild Black River. But although it is damaged, we can envision a tomorrow of it emerging stronger and better,” he informed local media.

“We will get it done. So maintain the positive outlook, remain hopeful, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.