Rescue teams have so far recovered eight bodies in Saint Elizabeth, among the nineteen confirmed dead in the country due to the passage of the cyclone. A pair of people was caught on October 31st walking on a street destroyed by Hurricane Melissa in Black River (Jamaica). The church also collapsed completely, and inside, there is only a mixture of bricks, glass, and wood from the benches where parishioners recently sat to pray. Members of the Police and the Army are taking control to bring order to the chaos reigning in the city, the capital of Saint Elizabeth parish, where Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson scale. EFE witnessed a soldier pointing his rifle at a civilian who was carrying stolen goods from one of the many stores destroyed by Melissa. In the port area, several police officers detained people who were looting some commercial establishments and forced them to return what they had taken. Visibly affected, Police Officer Alan Markson told EFE that «people are entering the city and robbing all businesses, all establishments, due to the devastation caused by the hurricane». Pointing to the rubble around him, the officer stated that the damage caused by Melissa in Black River can be described as «a total disaster». A member of the Jamaican Army was captured on October 31st guarding a street destroyed by Hurricane Melissa in Black River (Jamaica). «It will take a long time, a very long time,» he said, fighting back tears. Meanwhile, Legester called for the unity of the city's residents in this reconstruction phase following the devastation caused by Melissa. «The community needs to come together more, to build a better Black River, a better service for the people,» the merchant emphasized. In addition to homes, businesses, and the church, the city's hospital and police stations were also devastated. Access to the city remains difficult. Between Santa Cruz and Black River, the pavement is covered in mud, and much of the vegetation bordering the road is on the ground, with trees uprooted. Drivers who find themselves trapped often get out of their vehicles to push the trees blocking the road, and some use machetes to help cut branches. To try to infuse courage into a desperate population, the island's Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, assured this Saturday that «Jamaica has once again faced adversity» but will rebuild «stronger». Amid the chaos and destruction under an unforgiving sun, a long line of people queued in Black River to receive a food donation from an NGO. Hunger and fatigue were evident on the faces of some elderly people who patiently waited for the food distribution in the city, which remains without electricity, water, and internet. «People are trying to recover from everything that happened, they lost everything,» lamented merchant Marlon Legester to EFE near the food distribution site. Legester highlighted that the delivery of aid is crucial because the residents of Black River are «without a home, without food, without anything»: «The city is almost destroyed,» he added. Furthermore, there are still missing persons, whom the merchant estimated at nine.
