Live Blogging Hurricane Igor

8:00am: 3,650 without electricity [details here] and Bermuda Regiment soldiers report for duty.[details here]

9:55am: Video posted here from this morning showing winds at Bostock Hill in Paget.

10:00am: Dr Marc Guishard of the Weather Service reported sightings of tornadic activity on their radar in the East End. Dr. Guishard has indicated that the Causeway should be temporarily closed.

10:00am: Small fire at Trimingham Hill in Paget, we understand no injuries

10:09am: Our reporter in St George’s is saying the Causeway is closed, however we have rec’d no official notification.

10:10am: Photo here shows a sailboat on the rocks in Mangrove Bay Somerset this morning

10:12am: We have official confirmation the Causeway has closed. Photo of closed Causeway with barriers up here and here.

10:27am: BELCO says total customers out as of 10:00 am is approx 2500, and crews are working to restore power. More details here.

10:34am: Photo here taken just now in St Davids. Resident reports “Despite the very high winds we still have power (for now). The waves are crashing high up on the hill across from the condos.”

10:46am: Resident reports power at north side of Harrington Hundreds road lost power 15 minutes ago. Resident reports Glebe Road area still has power.

11:12am: Live webcast from Somerset available here.

11:40am: Cable has gone out in some areas of Devonshire.

11:46am: Also see our Facebook page, where our members are posting photos.

11:54am: Resident in Southampton has reported her home is experiencing some flooding, photo of the home’s front door here

12:21pm: BELCO reports 6,000 without power. They are asking people to call BELCO at 955 to report emergencies, such as downed lines and leaning poles. Details here.

12:32pm: Full photo slideshow and video showing weather conditions in St Georges and St Davids filmed from 9am-11am this morning added here.

12:49pm: Bermuda Bistro on Front Street is open to 5pm today.

12:56pm: Here at “Bernews HQ” howls of the wind can be heard, and leaves are blowing past outside.

1:11pm: Video of weather conditions in Southampton at 11:40am posted here.

1:15pm: This photo was posted on our Facebook page, and it was so cute we had to post it here as well. Their mom says she “is trying to entertain the kids”. Photo here.

1:21pm: The US National Hurricane Center says hurricane force winds are reported in Bermuda now, with stronger to come. It is now 135 miles away, moving at 16mph. BDA Weather says closest point is at 10pm tonight, and winds to decrease to below hurricane force late tonight.

1:36pm: A tree is down in Khyber Pass Warwick, photo here.

2:30pm: Also see our Youtube channel where we are steadily adding videos.

2:47pm: BELCO reports that as of 2:00pm, there are approximately 7000 customers without power. BELCO’s Hurricane Igor Incident Command have made the decision that all crews will now stand down, effective immediately, until storm force winds abate. With the worst of the hurricane yet to come, the plan calls for crews to be sent back out into the field as soon as possible on Monday when conditions improve. Full details here.

2:57pm: This is official information from Dwayne Caines of the Emergency Measures Organization: “Everyone should now be off the road. (We are still noticing some individuals that are storm watching. Please go inside until the EMO states officially the worst has passed and it is safe to come outside. ) Persons on the road at this point jeopardize not only their safety but the safety of the emergency personnel. We are getting reports of flooding on roads and cars stalling as well as downed trees, and tree branches and other debris. Cedarbridge Academy is open as a Shelter for those who need a place to go at this point.”

3:05pm: This information is official information from the EMO press officers and the Department of Parks. There are trees down in Mangrove Bay, Middle Road nears Spicelands, Barkers Hill, Canal Road in Pembroke is completely blocked, South Road Smiths near Harrington Hundreds, and the Cabinet Office in Hamilton has large branches down. Tree Teams from the Department of Parks are on Stand-by and will be assessing as the day goes on.

3:28pm: Devonshire Post Office has several branches down [photo]., and Orange Valley has plenty of foliage in the road [photo]. Photos taken at approx 12 noon.

3:43pm: The tall antenna in Prospect is shaking in the wind, rocking back and forth.

3:57pm: Here at “Bernews HQ” massive sections of branches are falling, its raining, the wind is howling, we’ve lost cable but maintain power thankfully.

4:31pm: BELCO reports approx 16,000 without power, since they have approx 35,500 customers, about 50% of the island is without power. Full details here.

4:54pm: As usual, some people have left motorbikes parked in Hamilton. Photo here of bikes knocked down on Bermudiana Road at about 12pm.

5:07pm: Photo from this afternoon showing a tree crashed across the road, and another photo here of a crashed tree.

5:19pm: On a musical note, the Government emergency radio station is playing some reasonable music between updates. Previous storms, there were times where they appeared to play the exact same CD for hours on end.

5:30pm: From St George’s we are told “Lotsa wind and rain, No trees seen down. No visible structral damages. Still some traffic on the road. The big one is St Georges Club which apparently lost power at 11am + is still out with many Bermudians up there trying to escape that problem. St Georges Prep that suffered greatly from Fabian appears to be ok.”

5:36pm: Bit of distressing news….there was an incident in Paget which resulted in the death of a pet..a kitten. The details are a tad gory, so we won’t go into them.

5:49pm: We have hundreds of photos up from when the storm was approaching, you can view them here.

6:00pm: Large scale flooding has started to occur in the West End, residents of the Boaz Island condos are pictured here literally walking in thigh deep water. Additional photos here.

6:34pm: BELCO reports approximately 19,500 customers were without power as of 6pm, this is approx 60% of Bermuda. More details here.

7:10pm:The Government tender boat “Bermudian” broke from its moorings . The buoy to which it was attached is still in its original location but the boat is being slammed by the surf against the shoreline. Depending on the amount of damage received, it may not be available to tender passengers of the visiting Veendam if she comes in this Tuesday. Photos here and here. More info on boats breaking free here.

7:52pm: The Bermuda Weather Service says Igor’s closest point of approach to Bermuda is forecast in about 2 hours at 10pm – when it will be around 50 miles to our west. It is still carrying maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.

8:05pm: Police and EMO spokesman Dwayne Caines has refuted the rumours that someone has drowned in Bermuda, saying “As of 8:02 pm no one has drowned in the waters in and around Bermuda.” It appears this confusion came about due to news reports that two people drowned from Igor – which was NOT in Bermuda, but the Caribbean. Details on those two tragic deaths here.

8:29pm: St Georges, like much of the island, is flooding rapidly, with water reaching up to the level of the Ordnance Island bridge.

8:40pm: BELCO says as of 8pm, there are 21,000 without power. For full details on BELCO outgages see here.

9pm: “Bernews HQ” is feeling it now, the wind is howling outside, and we are worried about losing power. We apologize if we abruptly stop updating at some point through the night. Rest assured, we will only stop if we are unable to update.

9:10pm: The Ferry Terminal in Hamilton has sustained damage, this photo is from around noon today.

9:20pm: Our East Enders are in for a bit more than the rest of the island, with the EMO saying “The eastern parishes will see a longer period of hurricane force winds before the storm starts to move away.” The winds will peak at 10/11pm tonight, stay through the night whike gradually decreasing.

10:30pm: BELCO reports approx 23,600 [66% of island] is without power as of 10pm, and that number is likely to increase through the night. Full details on BELCO outages here.

10:51pm: “Bernews HQ” is experiencing flickering, and we are worried we may lose internet ability, so wish to apologize in advance if we stop posting. Hopefully not.

11:22pm: It appears there have been no serious injuries at all as of yet, we hope it holds.

11:41pm: Igor is very close and we are now in the worst of it, and you can definitely tell. It is howling outside, and “Bernews HQ” is experiencing windows shaking and rattling. For more descriptions of what it is like here, see our Facebook page where people are posting.

12:18am [Mon Sept 20]: Photo set showing major flooding of St Georges Town Square here.

1:06am: We are in for a long night as Bermuda Weather says “Current hurricane force winds are projected to end around sunrise Monday with tropical storm force winds ending early Monday evening”

1:48am: We aren’t meteorologists, but we wonder if the eye, or part thereof, is over us now, as we can report it has gone very quiet – for this first time in hours we aren’t hearing the howling of the wind. Our man “over the Causeway” says it is the same there. Peering outside shows it appears calmer. Eye or coincidence we do not know.

2:39am: Due to the anti-social time, we don’t expect any substantial updates to come through to about 7am, so unless something extreme happens, we likely won’t be updating again for about 4 hours. Thanks for following along, and check back later today when we will Live Blog Part #2: The Aftermath.

7:39am: Official confirmation: No deaths or major injuries reported from Igor!

7:45am: We would like to thanks all the overseas visitors from around the world for their well wishes.

8:03am: We are up and running on a new live blog: Aftermath of Igor – see here.

[Editors note: At this stage we would greatly appreciate any help with reports, comments and photos. We have pushed hard to do the best we can to bring you Igor updates and photos, but are now restricted in movement, as safety is of prime concern. Please feel free to help us out and post anything here as a comment below or email us at info@bernews.com. If we stop updating, its as we have lost ability to. Thanks….and be safe.]

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