Rebuilding Black River will be a ‘massive task’ after Hurricane Melissa - Holness

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says it is going to be “a massive task” to rebuild the town of Black River in St Elizabeth, confirming reports that the parish capital was flattened by Hurricane Melissa.

Holness, who did an aerial tour of the region early Wednesday, said 80 to 90 per cent of roofs in the area had been destroyed and that a significant number of buildings had been damaged.

“On the ground, the impact is even more palpable. Right now, we are standing in close proximity to the Black River Hospital, and that has been totally destroyed, along with several other buildings, including historic buildings, churches, courthouse, parish council, and other older heritage buildings have been destroyed.

“The electricity grid of Black River is totally wiped out. Telecommunications, we have seen one tower damage, we are not certain if the other one is operable. So the entire infrastructure and everything needed for the convenience of modern living is destroyed here in Black River,” said Holness.

He said residents remained in shock at the devastation and are still coming to grips with the devastation left behind by the monster storm, that made landfall in Westmoreland as a Category 5 hurricane.

Still, he said they have shown resilience and are maintaining a positive outlook.

“The government intends to complement that with bringing in the necessary emergency relief. The first line of effort in this regard is to clear the roadways to allow for vehicular traffic, not just to allow people to come in and visit relatives that they can't get in contact with, but to bring in much needed supplies to the supermarkets and the other supply centres, which are now empty,” Holness said.

He said once this is done, more assistance will flow including from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and other relief agencies.

“It is going to be a massive task to rebuild Black River, this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a future of it rising stronger and better, because the truth is that many of the buildings were not properly located in the first place. They were in vulnerable areas,” the prime minister said.

He said the Government will now use the opportunity to properly reorganise and to build back stronger, describing Black River as being at “ground zero”.

Holness said while Melissa’s path destroyed the corridor from central St Elizabeth to St James, recovery is not beyond the country.

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

- Kimone Francis

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