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

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

“Our community of Black River is devastated,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Several people from the town are confirmed dead, but the mayor noted hearing reports of other fatalities that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and lasted for around several hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he explained.

“We experienced up to 16ft of flooding at the response center. That was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any more, because we were on the second floor, and frankly, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that Black River, located in the hard-hit south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofing. An authority previously characterized the town as under water, with more than 500,000 inhabitants without power. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been turned to muddy tracks. Residents are now removing water from their houses and trying to salvage their possessions.

Rescue efforts and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” notes Solomon.

The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the devastation.

“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. My roof was lost, so I do understand the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most vulnerable at this point,” he explains.

The mayor estimates that it will take millions of local currency to rebuild Black River after Melissa’s annihilation. At present, he states, the main goal 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 aid in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to individuals who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.

The prime minister has seen the damage personally, with an aerial tour of the area revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been destroyed.

“This will be a massive undertaking to restore Black River. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising more resilient and improved,” he told reporters.

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