Bermuda is well on the road to recovery after Hurricane Joaquin, the acting Premier said yesterday.

“Bermuda appears to have weathered the storm well and already we are getting back to normal,” Bob Richards said.

“The vast majority of residents remained off the roads, secured their property in good time for the main impact of the hurricane. As early as 1am, crews from our various agencies were at work repairing main roads for use by the motoring public.

“The main effort at this stage is the restoration of power, continued road clearance and assessment of various sites to ensure the safety of schools and other buildings.

“The LF Wade International Airport has reopened, along with most Government offices. Public bus service has resumed on major routes. Some roadways are being assessed and, once given the all-clear, it is anticipated that more commuter routes will become available.”

Mr Richards expressed his thanks to those who had been working to help the Island recover, riding out the storm away from their friends and families.

“They continue to do us proud,” he said. “We should all bring a healthy dose of patience to this clean-up period as the work progresses as quickly as possible. There is a tremendous amount of work under way by various agencies, including Belco, whose crews braved the elements even last night to restore power to some areas.”

Police commissioner Michael DeSilva, meanwhile, said that officers set out at 1am to assess any blockages on the roads and, with the assistance of the Royal Bermuda Regiment, were able to open up emergency routes relatively quickly.

“By daybreak most of the roads were open to two-lane traffic with very few exceptions,” he said. “The Regiment worked so fast that the commanding officer was able to stand them down before lunchtime. We are very thankful for their assistance.”

Mr DeSilva said there were fairly few incidents to report apart from a pair of small fires that caused no injuries and minor property damage.

“Apart from that the only incidents were the type you usually associate with this type of weather system,” he said. “Sparking poles, trees down. Nothing that is any great significance. While we can’t say the hurricane was uneventful, we can say it was not a significant event and for that we are extremely grateful.”

Both Mr DeSilva and Mr Richards asked the public for their patience in the next few days as the Island returns to business as usual.

Last night, Walter Roban, the Shadow Minister of Public Safety, said: “Let us be thankful for the work of the hundreds of personnel inclusive of the emergency services, hospital, police, regiment, fire, public works, Civil Service, and all other government workers who must take time from their families to make sure at rest of us our safe.

“Included in this major thank you would be Belco, BTC, CableVision and others now working to restore their services to the public.

“Let us be patient and co-operate with those teams of workers out there working all over the island putting our infrastructure back in place. Continue to look for any of your neighbours who may be alone or somehow challenged.”