Bermuda cheered as Fabian departed. During his brief visi, he shut down airports, closed schools, flooded areas, and caused the deaths of at least four people. Fabian is one vacationer that all of Bermuda was happy to see leave.
Hurricane Fabian landed in Bermuda around five p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, and managed to do millions of dollars worth of damage before heading north. Fabian, once a category four hurricane, is currently rotating harmlessly near Newfoundland, in danger of being downgraded to a tropical storm.
Wind gusts of at least 143 m.p.h. battered the island Friday from two p.m. until midnight – causing waterfront damage, numerous boats to be grounded upon outlying rocks, and the roof to blow off a fire station. The gusts also swept two cars containing four people into the Bermuda Causeway.
Only one body has been recovered.
Due to downed power lines and hundreds of fallen trees, 70 percent of Bermuda power customers had no electricity the day after the storm. Witnesses, such as CNN correspondent Gary Tuchman, said the hotels along the beachfront were shaking and that a beachside restaurant had been swallowed by the ocean. Tuchman toured the islands post-Fabian and noted extensive damage.
“We’ve seen roofs off but very few homes actually totaled,” he told CNN. “And that’s partly because of the very strict building codes here.”
Preliminary reports suggested that damage would run to as much as $300 to $350 million. As of Sept. 13, reports of damage had only reached $75 million.
The Bermuda newspaper, The Royal Gazette, reports that the damage inflicted on the island by Hurricane Fabian does not appear to be as bad as first feared.
“I was a little surprised at the damage,” said Larry Osborne, head of Argus Insurance’s property and casualty division, to the Gazette. “The damage was not as severe as we had thought.”
Osborne attributed the lack of damage on the island to the advance notice of the coming storm, and fair weather after the storm. This resulted in less water damage caused by rainfall as the storm abated.
Brian Kolts, a Bermuda meteorologist, agreed. “In the last 50 years, this was the worst storm,” said Kolts to the Gazette. “Fortunately with the technology we now have, we were better prepared for it with more warning.”
Fabian was the first hurricane to strike Bermuda since Hurricane Emily hit in 1987, and the first hurricane to cause deaths since an unnamed category three hurricane struck in 1926. The International Airport of Bermuda reopened September 8, and most schools were expected to resume classes on September 15.
Hurricane season lasts June 1 through November 30. The Saffir-Simpson scale categorizes hurricanes according to their wind speed in m.p.h. Category 1 storms have wind speeds of 74-95 mph and surges of 4-5 feet. Category 2 storms have wind speeds of 96-110 mph, as Category 3 storms have wind speeds of 111-130 mph. Category 4 storms have wind speeds of 131-155 mph and Category 5 storms have wind speeds of 156 mph and greater.
Hurricane Isabel, which currently threatens the Carolinas, weakened to a Category 2 storm on Wednesday, after being classified Category 5 last Sunday.