Stretches of the South Shore coastline from Church Road to Astwood Cove were battered but while rock disintegrated, the beaches on the whole appeared to be intact.

At the beach at The Reefs, half of the cliff face was sliced off by high wind and seas and fell away, landing both in the water and on the beach.

Most of the rocks visible from South Shore Road are now dotted with white where the pounding of waves has torn into the surface. At Sinky Bay and Whaler Inn, rocks were severely battered and at Whaler Inn part of the cliff face collapsed. The Whaler Inn tennis courts were covered in sand.

At Horseshoe Bay, rocks were so severely battered by the surge that the normally black cliff face is now dotted with white patches. But the famous beach itself remains intact - and, despite repeated warnings from emergency personnel and the visibly dangerous surf, there was at least one swimmer in the water by 9 a.m. today.

Dozens of trees littered the roads in the west end and Works and Engineering crews were joined this morning by residents armed with rakes and chainsaws as a US Coast Guard plane soared overhead. At Gibbs Hill Lighthouse all that was left of the newly added global positioning radar was a mangled piece of metal. But the lighthouse and the buildings around it appeared to be in good shape.

The state-of-the-art radar technology was installed just last month - and a decision was made not to remove it before the storm.

The technology is normally only used by the military and was installed in Bermuda to help Harbour Radio track shipping movements.

The 18-foot radar, on top of the lighthouse, was installed at a cost of $200,000. It replaced one which had been in operation for 14 years and was one of three used by Harbour Radio for beaming information back to headquarters at Fort St. George.

Matthew Fullerton, a South Shore Road resident who lives near Church Road, was dealing with the aftermath of the storm in a calm and controlled manner this morning.

His house is on the north side of the road about 75 yards from the cliff-face and set well back into the road, but he still felt the full force of the storm. "There were waves and spray coming right up to our house," he said.

Residents living along the South Shore cliffs beneath Mr. Fullerton's house said all their windows had been blown in and waves and sand had flooded the house. Blown-off roofs were visible all along the South Shore in the western parishes.

Harbour Road was blocked east of Tamarind Vale and Middle Road was flooded by the Warwick Lanes bowling alley. Early this morning, Middle Road appeared the most passable of the main roads. Harbour Road resident Lesley White said she and her family watched the storm from their windows facing the Great Sound. Her brother was due to get married today at 5.30 p.m. at the Southampton Princess - and as far as she knew, the wedding was still on.

"Come rain, shine or hurricane!" she said as she piled her family into the car to go to her brother's house.

At 8 a.m. at Astwood Park, Bermuda Regiment were stopping all traffic and turning sightseers around because of dangerous downed power lines. "Down by Pawpaws (Restaurant, at the junction of Dunscombe/South Shore Roads) and the gas station there are downed power lines and live wires," said a female soldier on duty. She suggested residents try getting back on to South Shore Road via Ord Road and Cobbs Hill.

Raynor's gas station on Middle Road in Southampton was open for business by 8.30 a.m, although Riddell's Bay gas station remained closed.

Boats in Riddell's Bay appeared to have weathered the storm fairly well, save two sailboats - one that ended on the rocks and another with tattered sails. The rocks surrounding Jews Bay in Southampton were littered with boats. But craft at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and PW's Marine Centre all appeared to have weathered the storm well.