Residents are breathing a sigh of relief as the worst of Hurricane Igor is behind us.
There were no major injuries and no reports of major incidents but there was debris and fallen trees and police are assessing the damage. The biggest issue has been the loss of power, with a majority of islanders affected by outages.
The ferry terminal in Hamilton experienced damage, while a ferry in St. George’s is believed to have broken its moorings and washing up on the rocks at Tiger Bay. There are also reports of flooding at Boaz Island.
Robin Simmons, police spokesman, said: "Emergency services personnel are making their assessment of the damage at the moment and we would appeal for members of the public to please stay off the roads so they can carry out their jobs quickly and efficiently.
"Despite earlier appeals for people to stay indoors we continue to receive reports of members of the public driving around to have a look at the damage and this is hindering the ability of the emergency services to do their assessments."
"The Causeway remains closed – it is being assessed and when it is ready to be re-opened, the public will be informed via the media and the Emergency Broadcast Radio Station 100.1FM."
The Causeway closed at around 10am on Sunday after reports of tornados in the area.
The Bermuda Regiment has been patrolling the island since 7am this morning assessing the damage and beginning the clear-up.
They were also on duty throughout the storm helping affected islanders, including wave watchers whose car got buried in sand.
Chris Gauntlet, Regiment spokesman, said: "Crews started moving at 7am conducting a full damage assessment.
"We have between four and five teams helping at the moment. We have sent teams east and west – they have got as far as they can to the Causeway and Dockyard.
"There are issues on the roads – one or two down power lines and there are some reports of roofs damaged or totally off.
"There are no reports of fatalities or serious injuries. There is minor damage to the Causeway and no news yet on when that will reopen – it is still closed this morning."
Yesterday the Regiment was called to Warwick Long Bay to help a car that got stuck in the sand when its occupants went to look at the waves.
Mr. Gauntlett said: "We responded along with police. The people in the car were stranded after early evening – they had gone down to the lower part of the car park at Warwick Long Bay, which was already covered in sand.
"The car, a family SUV, was stuck in the sand and it was not possible to pull it out – they had to abandon their vehicle. It was buried up to the chassis in sand."
The regiment also had to help get a man to hospital after fears his home life support system would not operate on his family’s generator once they lost power.
The highest recorded sustained winds from Hurricane Igor was at 12:40am on Monday at Commissioner’s Point, said Michelle Pitcher, of the Bermuda Weather Serivce. At that time the maximum sustained winds was 70 knots with gusts of 101 knots.
At the Weather Service’s airport location, the maximum sustained winds was recorded at 11:20pm on Sunday, with sustained winds of 59 knots and gusts of 81 knots.
Ms Pitcher added the closest point of approach was midnight when Hurricane Igor was 40 nautical miles to our west.
She said Bermuda is still under a Tropical Storm Warning and would likely be so until this afternoon.
Susan McGrath-Smith, spokesperson for BELCO, said 28,700 residents were without power with 46 branch lines down.
She said: "BELCO is beginning damage assessment, restoration planning and power restoration. This is a demanding process that takes time and a lot of work.
"We have 28,700 customers without power. We also have many reports of broken poles, wires down and transformers down, affecting both high voltage and low voltage lines. At first look, there appears to be considerable damage to the electricity distribution system Island-wide.
"Damage assessment teams and work crews are mobilized, while customer service representatives are coming in. As we get people out across the Island, we will begin to get a better picture of the state of our system.
"We will provide information at midday and again in early evening, with a final update for today at approximately 10 pm. We will begin tomorrow with an update at approximately 6 am. Power restoration is a slow and demanding process. We cannot provide any restoration time estimates yet."
Only 23 people were treated for emergencies yesterday at the hospitals with none of them being storm related. A Bermuda Hospitals Board spokesperson said 21 people were treated at King Edward with an additional two people were examined at the Lambe-Foggo Clinic.
This morning, boats that were ripped from their moorings could be seen run aground on nearby shores or flooded with water.
Tobacco Bay had most of the sand stripped away from it, leaving the rocks exposed.
Royal Naval warship HMS Manchester was last night on standby to offer support. The ship’s helicopter was due to conduct a flyover assessment of the island when it is safe to do so.
The Government’s Emergency Assistance Organisation (EAO) is ready to assist. Islanders can call 292-6325 or 292-6339.
All public schools are closed today and tomorrow and Government offices will be shut today.
Residents are urged to monitor the emergency broadcast radio on 100.1FM for public service announcements.
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