‘How do you rebuild all this?’ Black River residents assess damage after Hurricane Melissa | Jamaica

IJamaica’s southwestern region of St. It’s a treacherous journey to Black River, a seaside town in Elizabeth that’s bearing the brunt of Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, this week.

Uprooted trees and power poles, debris from landslides, huge potholes, and miles of thick, slippery silt from severe flooding have made the route a dangerous obstacle course. But the scariest thing is the water you encounter as you pass through communities that turned into rivers overnight.

Difficult conditions meant chaos on roads leading to Black River on Thursday; vehicles were stranded in the water and police and army personnel were trying to manage slow-moving traffic in both directions. And along the way, mind-boggling devastation occurs in buildings and homes, some gutted or filled with debris.

As we approach Black River, defined as ground zero of the Category 5 hurricane’s impact, it appears that the roofs of almost every house and building have been lost. The town center has been destroyed and now resembles a site of destruction.

Among the crumpled buildings and streets littered with zinc sheets and other dangerous debris coming from the roofs, there are people traumatized, confused, grieving and in need of help. Families with children settling in a bus shelter and others combing the ruins for food are indicators of a growing humanitarian crisis.

Some had come to Black River, the church’s capital, hoping to find help from nearby devastated areas, only to find a sight of complete destruction.

Speaking through tears, Beverly Stephens, who survived the storm with her son and her elderly mother who could not walk, asked the Guardian to “let the world know that Jamaica needs help”. He said he and his son, taking shelter in a room with a reinforced roof, spent three hours holding on to a door that the winds intended to blow down.

The death toll from the storm, which mostly hit Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is thought to be 50, including 19 in Jamaica and 31 in Haiti, and is expected to increase. Communications networks remain largely down in Jamaica and Cuba, and it may take days to confirm the full extent of damage.

The hurricane broke the record for the strongest Atlantic storm to make landfall in 1935 when it hit Jamaica on Tuesday, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A woman in Black River told the Guardian she went to the police station to report a death. Another, choking back tears, said he lost everything.

Annette Royal, who was visiting Black River from west Westmoreland, said every home in her area was hit. “The country is getting involved,” he said. “We need food, we need water, we need shelter, we need everything to survive, because if we don’t get all of that, we’re going to suffer in Jamaica.”

Religious education teacher Aston McCatty said it was clear the rebuilding would cost “billions” of dollars. “You’re looking at hundreds of years of history, completely destroyed in one day. How do you rebuild all this? No one in Jamaica can say they’ve seen anything like this,” he said, pointing to the destroyed church across the road.

Residents of the nearby tourist area of ​​Treasure Beach were stunned by Melissa’s unprecedented power, which wiped out the entire beachfront restaurant, leaving no trace of her presence and dragging graves from their places.

Fisherman Allan Daley, 67, said part of the roof of his house was missing and his boat was severely damaged when it was struck by a large shipping container.

“I’m 67 years old, I’ve been through hurricanes, including Gilbert, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “It was the strongest wind I’ve ever felt in my life. The foundation of my house is concrete and I could feel it moving.”

Hotel owner Owen Clarke, who had to rebuild his properties damaged by Cyclone Beryl last summer for the second year in a row, has called for more support for businesses affected by the cyclones. “It’s really bad. We don’t have electricity, we need materials like zinc, wood, cement, steel, nails,” he said.

Tourists caught in the storm were also assessing the damage on the beach on Thursday. Sri Sudevi from Islington, London, and her daughter Rachel Dimond, who came to Jamaica for a two-week holiday, said that when it became clear that the hurricane would be a big threat, they had to escape from where they were staying and head for the hills.

Describing the people of Treasure Beach as strong, resilient and friendly, Sudevi said she had a great holiday before Melissa arrived.

Dimond, who was stranded at Treasure Beach in 2020 during the Covid-19 crisis, said he was particularly concerned about not being able to contact his family in the UK after losing power, mobile phone and internet service during the hurricane. But he said: “Treasure Beach people look out for each other, they keep each other safe, so I knew I was in good hands. If I had to be anywhere for a hurricane, I’d be in Treasure Beach.”

“A warm plate of food will remind people that they are still home,” said local chef Candace Dryden, who runs the World Food Kitchen operation near the beach to provide hot meals and drinking water to residents without electricity or running water.

She said: “We’re a bit uncomfortable at the moment but we still have each other and we’re still cooking here with love.”

Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, executive director of the Jamaica Environmental Foundation, said Melissa’s strength and slow movement were “clear signs of climate change.”

“Science shows that while we may not be seeing more storms overall, the storms we do encounter are becoming stronger, wetter and more destructive. Category 4 and 5 hurricanes are now more common in our region,” he said.

“For the Caribbean, this means more intense storms like Melissa, longer recovery times and greater social and economic tension. Unless global emissions are drastically reduced, such events will become more normal.”

Heavy-duty military vehicles packed with mattresses and other supplies could be seen leaving St Elizabeth late in the evening, making their way over rough roads to bring what people hoped would be relief for those caught up in Melissa’s wake.