Guide
Hurricane prep and recovery in Bermuda
What to do to your house, who does each job, and where to find them — before, during and after.
For whether a storm is coming, when, and how bad: the Bermuda Weather Service ↗. For shelters and official instructions: the Emergency Measures Organisation via gov.bm ↗. This page is about your house and who to call; it isn't a forecast and it isn't official guidance.
Before the season, and before a storm
The work that matters most is done in May, not the day the Weather Service names something. But if you're reading this with a system on the way, start at the top and go as far down as time allows.
Shutters and windows
Check every shutter closes and latches; a shutter that won't shut is worse than none because you'll trust it. If you don't have them, storm shutters or panels are the single best thing you can do for a Bermuda house — glass is what lets the wind in, and the wind in is what takes the roof off.
The roof
Have a roofer look at the slate and the ridge, and at anything you've been meaning to get to. Loose slate goes first, and each one that goes takes neighbours with it. This is the one that's genuinely too late to fix once the wind is up.
Trees and anything that can fly
Overhanging limbs, dead wood, palms leaning at the house — a tree company can take them down in an afternoon. Then the yard: furniture, bins, planters, gas bottles, anything loose becomes a projectile at 100 knots. Inside, or tied down, or gone.
Power: generator, solar, and the tank pump
If you have a generator, run it under load now, not the day of. If you're thinking about one, or about solar with battery, an electrician needs to fit a proper transfer switch — plugging a generator into the house without one can kill a lineworker. And remember your water tank pump is electric: no power, no water pressure.
Water and drains
Clear the gutters, downpipes and the tank overflow — a Bermuda roof is your water supply, and a blocked downpipe in a hurricane puts that water through the ceiling instead of the tank. Know where your mains shut-off is.
Boat and pool
Get the boat hauled or into a hurricane hole early — the yards fill up fast once a system is named. Pools: don't drain them (an empty pool can lift out of the ground); drop the level a little, turn off and cover the pump.
During
Nobody on this site can help you during a storm, and nobody reputable will try. Stay inside, away from glass, and follow the Emergency Measures Organisation. If you need help, it's the emergency services, not a tradesperson.
After
Roughly in the order it usually happens. Two things first: don't touch a downed line — report it to BELCO and stay clear — and take photos of everything before anyone starts work, for your insurance.
Anything electrical
Downed lines, a soaked panel, a generator that won't start, or power back but something smelling hot. Water and electricity is the thing that hurts people after a storm, not the storm.
Trees down and access blocked
Tree companies are the busiest people on the island the morning after. Ring early. If a tree is on a line, that's BELCO first, tree company second.
Roof damage and water coming in
A tarp today, a repair when the roofers can get to you. Lost slate needs sorting before the next rain — Bermuda gets rain after hurricanes — and a roof leaking into a tank means the tank needs looking at too.
Windows, doors, shutters
Anything broken or blown in — board it, then get it fixed. If the shutters did their job and are just bent, that's a repair, not a replacement.
Water damage and clean-up
Get things drying fast; Bermuda humidity turns wet into mould in days. Ceilings, carpets, anything soaked. And the yard, once the trees are handled.
Insurance
Photos before, photos after, keep every receipt. Your insurer will want them, and if a claim needs an assessment, a surveyor or your contractor can document the damage properly.
After a storm, post the job once
When everyone's phone is ringing, describe what you need and your parish here and businesses in the right trade can come to you. Free, no account needed.