People walk along muddied roads scavenging the wreckage for food. Others jump into damaged stores in the hope of finding bottled water or other supplies.
As the death toll rises, residents of Black River are still searching for loved ones while they also battle to survive, days after Hurricane Melissa made this Jamaican port city ground zero of the devastation seen across the Caribbean.
Residents here say they have been living in a state of chaos the last three days since Melissa slammed into them as one of the most powerful category 5 storms ever recorded in the region.
The fierce winds and storm surge that barrelled through here have decimated nearly everything, leaving roads unusable and a trail of destruction that has them increasingly desperate and isolated with no electricity or running water.
Capsized boats lie curb side. Brick buildings are split in half. Giant sheets of metal are twisted between tree branches. Vehicles sit in crumbled pieces.
Residents who spoke to the BBC said they have seen no aid trucks in the area so far and described having to eat what food they can find in debris by the roads in the coastal town, nearly 150 km (93 miles) west of Kingston.
Jimmy Esson, a local, leaned against a massive metal beam that had been knocked to the ground. I lost everything, all my things, he said. We need food. We have no food. The situation has reached critical levels as local officials report that at least 19 people have died in the country, with many still unaccounted for.
Local aid is starting to trickle in, but the roads remain impassable in many areas. Meanwhile, community members express growing despair as they witness looting and desperation within their neighborhoods.
