Building back better and safer while preserving the town’s storied history is the challenge up ahead for those preparing to take on the Black River restoration project.

As is well known, the commercial centre of St Elizabeth’s capital and much of the rest of the seaside town were demolished during Hurricane Melissa in late October 2025. Old buildings of wood and stone dating back far in excess of a century, and even the spacious, modern market, fell before the onslaught of tidal waves driven by Melissa’s monstrous winds.

The old saying that “haste makes waste” is by no means misplaced. For that reason we can’t fault the plea for patience by Mayor of Black River Councillor Richard Solomon (Jamaica Labour Party, New Market Division) and Mr Floyd Green, Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Western (in which Black River falls).

“We don’t want to rush… We have to ensure that we have the best building methodologies [and] environmental solutions that could reduce the impact of further weather events…” said Mr Green, who is agriculture and fisheries minister.

Then again, messaging that can provide direction and hope for the immediate future seems urgent. That’s especially in the context of word from Councillor Dwight Salmon (People’s National Party, Black River Division) regarding an uncertain future for owners of Melissa-ravaged businesses.

Mr Salmon suggests that “older businesses will be backed [into a] corner” with owners forced to sell. He argued that the majority of those business operators “don’t have the resource or the capital to rebuild”. That’s even as he hailed native resilience, strength, and courage.

All that aside, town elders, community stakeholders, Urban Development Corporation (UDC), and all others involved in rebuilding dare not miss that an essential cornerstone must be the town’s history.

Put simply, Black River, located where the river of the same name enters the Caribbean Sea, is among Jamaica’s oldest communities and remains a leading location for recognised heritage sites. Our reporter reminds us that it was once a thriving seaport exporting goods such as logwood, rum, pimento, and cattle skins.

Crucially, and infamously, until the end of the British slave trade in 1807, Black River was also a trading post for newly arrived, kidnapped Africans sold into captivity. Hence, the presence of the landmark Zong Monument close to the meeting of river and sea, reputedly at the very spot where our African ancestors were auctioned into enslavement.

Sadly, despite a steady stream of local and overseas visitors for boat rides upriver — deep into the Lower Black River Morass — going back decades, the town’s recognised potential as a heritage destination has never been properly exploited.

There may well be a temptation on the part of some to take a negative view that the loss of so many historic structures to the hurricane spells the death of that legacy. Any such view must not be countenanced.

We are at one with tour guide Ms Allison Morris that, “Your heritage is still your heritage. It’s just that you might not have the physical markers… but our history hasn’t spoiled. Hurricane Melissa has added another layer to it.”

Indeed, Hurricane Melissa, ranked among the strongest, if not the strongest Atlantic storm ever in recorded history, is now intricately part of Black River’s enthralling story and history.