Associated Press
Monday, October 20, 2014
Gonzalo's center crossed over Bermuda late Friday and quickly moved northward over the Atlantic on a track that could take it just off the shore of Newfoundland in Canada.
About 20,000 homes in Bermuda were without power, but Premier Michael Dunkley said cleanup efforts were going smoothly. He said the United States, Britain and other nations have offered assistance.
"All hands are on deck," he tweeted. "Bermuda is roaring back!"
Gonzalo approached Bermuda as a Category 3 storm, then weakened to Category 2 strength before coming ashore with sustained winds of 110 mph. After beginning to move away, its winds still battered the island for hours.
Maria Frith, who owns Grape Bay Cottages on Bermuda's south coast, said in a phone interview that the hurricane woke her up before dawn when it tore the patio roof off her house.
"To be perfectly honest with you, I was terrified, partly because of the noise," she said. "It was really scary."
Some Bermudians woke up to toppled concrete walls, uprooted palm trees and boats run aground. Gonzalo ripped part of the roof off the island's legislature, the House of Assembly, as well as the roof of an exhibit at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo. No catastrophic damage was reported.
