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The local leader of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “ground zero” for the devastating storm – has shared the immense storm surges and widespread destruction wrought by the catastrophe.

Reflecting on the harrowing experience, the mayor described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency operating centre.

“Our community of this area is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so catastrophic that the prime minister classified this area as ground zero.”

Several people from the town are confirmed dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of other fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to communication and travel challenges.

“The hurricane came around 8 a.m. and continued for around nine hours, during which we were pounded with strong gusts and a lot of rain,” he explained.

“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of water at the emergency operating centre. It was a bit scary for us, and we were praying that it would not increase any further, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary moment for us.”

Solomon stated that the town, located in the hard-hit south-western region of St Elizabeth, is lacking running water and electricity, and most structures have had their roofs. One official previously described the town as flooded, with more than 500,000 inhabitants without power. A landslide has blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz, where roadways have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their houses and attempting to rescue their possessions.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven extremely difficult because all the town’s transport and critical services such as fire, police, hospitals and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

He is now concentrating on trying to help the neediest residents, while also dealing with the personal impact of the disaster.

“The mayor's car was completely submerged by water. The roofing was lost, so I do understand the suffering that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on getting assistance for the most at-risk at this point,” he says.

Solomon believes that it will take millions of local currency to restore Black River after the hurricane's destruction. At present, he states, the priority is removing debris from blocked routes, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to clear the major thoroughfares and secondary routes here so that we can get relief supplies in. The majority of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they won’t be able to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.

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

“This will be a enormous task to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.

“It will be accomplished. So maintain the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will overcome this challenge, and we will rebuild better,” he said.