Bermuda’s international airport reopened to commercial flights on Monday, after a 24-hour shutdown while the island’s electricity company is working to restore power to thousands of customers following the passage of Hurricane Joaquin that battered the island on Sunday night and well into Monday.
Officials said there were no reports of serious damage or deaths but tropical-storm-force gusts continued to rake the island.
Sole power provider the Bermuda Electric Light Company (Belco) reported that a significant number of customers have had their electricity restored, but more than 13,000 customers remain without power.
The Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) said almost three inches of rain fell on Sunday as the centre of Joaquin passed to the west of the island as a Category One storm, down from a strong Category Four 24 hours earlier.
Joaquin, which earlier caused death and destruction during a two-day rampage through the Bahamas, has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was situated about 195 miles north of the Bermuda, moving away to the north-northeast at 13 mph.
All schools were closed on Monday but government offices reopened at noon.
There was no official announcement on when ferries and buses would start operating again.
The Causeway, a low-lying bridge linking the east end with the remainder of Bermuda, re-opened on Monday after being closed on Sunday night.
