Island digs out after Gonzalo roars through
HAMILTON, Bermuda — Hurricane Gonzalo crushed trees, flattened power lines and damaged Bermuda’s main hospital during an hours-long battering, but no deaths were reported on the tiny, wealthy British territory.
The storm’s center crossed over Bermuda late Friday and Gonzalo quickly moved north over the Atlantic on a track that could take it just off the shore of Newfoundland in Canada.
“This was a dangerous hurricane, but Bermuda today is dealing with property damage, blocked roads and a loss of electricity, all things that can be replaced and restored,” said Premier Michael Dunkley. “Thankfully, there has been no loss of life.”
The hospital, which suffered a damaged roof, was still operating, and bulldozers were clearing trees from roads as crews worked to restore power to 24,000 homes.
Maria Frith, who owns Grape Bay Cottages on Bermuda’s south coast, said in a phone interview that the hurricane woke her up Saturday before dawn when it tore the patio roof off her house.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I was terrified, partly because of the noise,” she said. “It was really scary.”
Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva said many roads were impassible and urged people to stay home, warning on the island’s Emergency Broadcast Station that motorists would be turned back.
“Unless it’s a life or death emergency — checking on your boat is not an emergency — we won’t let you pass,” he said.
Gonzalo approached Bermuda as a Category 3 storm then weakened to Category 2 strength just before coming ashore with sustained winds of 110 mph.
Some Bermudians woke up to toppled concrete walls, uprooted palm trees and boats run aground. The Royal Gazette newspaper reported that part of the roof of the island’s legislature, the House of Assembly, was ripped off.
Flooding was the main concern on Bermuda, which is known for strict building codes meant to ensure that homes can withstand sustained winds of at least 110 mph.
The last major hurricane to strike Bermuda was Fabian in September 2003. That Category 3 storm killed four people and caused more than $100 million in damage.
The island was still recovering from last weekend’s blast from Tropical Storm Fay, which also damaged homes and toppled power lines.
“To be struck twice by two different cyclones is unusual, to say the least,” said Max Mayfield, a former director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.