The National Hurricane Center reports Hurricane Igor was a weak Category 1 storm when it hit Bermuda late Sunday night.  People on the island might call it something else.

The storm brought severe wind gusts, heavy sideways rain and a howl that at times sounded like a freight train until the wee hours of the morning.  By late morning Tropical Storm force winds were still battering the skinny island but damages appear minimal.

A tour of the southern coast revealed some trees down, many branches and palm fronds on the road and some power lines and utility poles toppled, but most were still standing.  The biggest issue along the coast is beach erosion.  The Elbow Beach hotel lost 10-15 feet of sand depth, revealing giant boulders once hidden below.  It also suffered some minor damages to the facing of the main hotel building, which is closed anyway for renovations.  At Jews Bay marina, Fox News found one boat sank during the storm.

The Reefs Hotel lost railings and some planking from a deck near the ocean’s edge.  A piece of the ceiling in the portico entrance was ripped out and there were some minor leaks in stairwells.  Overall hotel management is relieved.

The biggest issue on the island now is loss of power.  BELCO, the Bermuda Electric Company, reports roughly 80% of its customers have no service.  More than 28,000 of the 35,000 customers lost power sometime yesterday evening or overnight, with 65 mainline circuits out, “many branch lines and single calls” also down, and “considerable damage to the electric distribution system island wide.”  The company has crews out this morning assessing damages and efforting repairs but some could be in the dark for days at least.

There seems to be widespread agreement this island nation, one of the richest and most densely populated places on earth, got very lucky again, although officials are still waiting on full reports of damages and possible injuries or loss of life, but there are no such reports so far.

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