People of Jamaican coastal town described as storm’s ground zero are traumatised and desperate for help
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t is a treacherous journey to Black River, a coastal town in Jamaica’s southwestern parish of St Elizabeth, which this week bore the brunt of Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Uprooted trees and lamp-posts, rubble from landslides, huge potholes and miles of thick, slippery silt from severe flooding have turned the route into a dangerous obstacle course. But most daunting is the water that you encounter as you pass through communities that overnight have become rivers.
The difficult conditions meant chaos on the roads to Black River on Thursday with vehicles stalling in the water and police and army personnel trying to manage long lines of slow-moving traffic in both directions. And along the way is mind-boggling destruction to buildings and homes, some of which were gutted or packed with debris.
