Regiment Swing Into Post-Hurricane Action
Royal Bermuda Regiment teams hit the roads early today in the wake of Hurricane Nicole.
And Major Andrew Clarke, Chief of Staff and Operations Officer at the nerve centre of the RBR hurricane operation, said: “Bermuda has weathered the storm pretty well, despite the saturated ground.”
“In terms of being hit, Nicole struck much harder than Hurricane Gonzalo two years ago but, perhaps because Gonzalo uprooted all these massive old trees then, there isn’t much lying on the ground now.”
Slideshow of the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole:
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Maj. Clarke added that the road from Warwick Camp to Dockyard was clear on a single lane and also clear from Barnes Corner to the traffic lights at Paget.
He said: “We have currently got five teams engaged in clearance tasks with downed trees and power lines on the South Shore around Astwood Cove and Coral Beach.”
Reconnaissance teams also checked Pembroke out to Spanish Point and returned along North Shore Road to Flatts Bridge, with routes being checked and cleared where required out to the east end.
Maj. Clarke said: “It’s very comprehensive coverage really and we’re clearing what we can on the hoof – if our recce teams find something that can be removed or cut up with chainsaws very quickly they’re doing that and putting it at the side of the road for Works & Engineering to collect.”
He added: “I’m very happy with the operations side and with the way things have worked – we really gelled which is essential for the success of any operation.
“We’re a well-oiled machine and that’s pretty impressive for a volunteer organisation who have a wide training remit to cover.”
Maj. Clarke said: “It’s pretty much running on rails – I believe we have improved a lot since 2014 with Fay and Gonzalo. We had soldiers out very quickly and they started clearing roads rapidly.”
“As soon as the threat was reduced from red to amber, we were out clearing the primary routes to enable emergency vehicle access.”
Weather conditions at 10am this morning:
The storm reportedly brought 16 -18 feet storm surges in the Castle Harbour and Boat Troop personnel were last night out on the water checking the structural condition of the Causeway and checking Castle Harbour for marine incidents and hazards – none were reported.
Warwick Camp itself did not escape unscathed – RBR officers piled out of the Officers’ Mess at the height of the storm to protect the Company offices from a flooding threat.
A total of five Immediate Response Teams [IRTs] were called up on Wednesday, with one stationed east of the Causeway in case the link between St George’s and the rest of the island was cut.
The eastern IRT, based at Clearwater fire station, was bolstered by a team from Boat Troop in case casualties needed to be evacuated to Grotto Bay for ambulance pick-up.
The St George’s IRT is also responsible for checking the airport runway is clear of debris to allow flights in and out of the island to resume as soon as possible.
For our ongoing live updates on Hurricane Nicole click here, and for all coverage of Nicole click here.
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Since when did the Reggie become a volunteer organization?? In any case good work out there lads!0
Thank you to the EMO team, Bermuda Weather Station, Harbour Radio, The Royal Bermuda Regiment, BELCO, Bermuda Police, Fire & Rescue Services who have done and are continuing to do an outstanding job in keeping us all safe and cleaning up.