Bermuda were affected and the Fire Department was inundated with complaints of massive floods. The only good news from the over four inches of rain the Island received was for those households needing water in their tanks.

Among those who were drenched and inconvenienced by the downpour were the Bermuda International Airport and Masters Limited on Dundonald Street.

"It could not have hit at a worst time,'' said the Airport's Paul Richard "It hit at the peak time.'' Mr. Richard said two flights had to divert to the US while a third circled the airport for 30 minutes before landing.

"We had two flights diverted because visibility was low,'' he said. "Air Canada went to the States to refuel. It's coming back at 5.15 p.m.

"A US Air flight also went to the States because it didn't have enough fuel to circle around.'' US Air general manager Herbie Siggans said the 1.05 p.m. Philadelphia flight had to land in Boston to refuel.

"It will arrive around 6.30 p.m. and head to Baltimore around 7 p.m.,'' Mr.

Siggans added.

Mr. Richard said the Continental flight from New Jersey was able to circled the Airport for half-an-hour.

"He had a lot of fuel,'' he said. "On the third approach they made it in.'' And the Airport also experienced several lightning strikes and had flooding in the departure/arrival walkways were renovations are being completed.

"We lost some communication but the problem is being fixed as we speak,'' Mr.

Richard added.

Meanwhile in Hamilton, waterlogged streets flooded several offices and stores.

Susan Wilson of Master Limited yesterday told The Royal Gazette that the store experienced a huge flood.

"It's the worst I've ever seen in the 18 years I've been here,'' Ms Wilson declared. "We're seeking legal counsel.'' She claimed the Dundonald Street area always ended up being immersed in water after a heavy rainfall.

"The back-of-town businesses pays taxes and deserves the same treatment as Front Street,'' Ms Wilson stressed. "It's the overburdened canal and no one wants to take responsibility for it. The Government and the Corporation of Hamilton have to get together on this, each just sits there and points the finger at the other. It's not fair to the tax payers.'' "The sewer lines over flowed in the back and I'm worried about the health hazards of that,'' she added.

Ms Wilson said the rain, which reached several feet in height, caused a lot of damage to the recently renovated store.

"It's a brand new renovated building,'' she said. "We just had the floor redone and it's ruined. Water was coming in the front door. There were even had bikes floating down the road.'' Ms Wilson said after her calls to 911 fell on deaf ears she contacted Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness for assistance.

"After that call we finally got someone down here to block the road off,'' she said. "There could have been a serious accident down here if there had been any electrical lines touching that water.'' Rain causes havoc around Bermuda "The Fire Department did not show up until after two. I called shortly after 12.'' And she said if it was not for her staff, the store would not have been able to reopen today.

"If it hadn't been for the staff I don't know what I would of done,'' Ms Wilson added. "Two of them went out there and directed traffic and they all helped to clean up. Thanks to them we'll be back open tomorrow.'' Lt. Jon Thompson of the Bermuda Fire Service said the department was inundated with calls about flooding.

"It's been an extremely busy day,'' Lt. Thompson said. "We've had over 35 calls and we're still counting.'' He said the calls began pouring in around 12.20 p.m. and kept six appliances, 31 personnel and several off-duty fire fighters busy.

"Pembroke and Devonshire seemed to be the worse areas,'' Lt. Thompson added.

"When it (rain) comes down hard and fast, like it did today, there are always problems.'' The Bermuda Weather Service said last night that 4.15 inches of rain had fallen from 9.00 p.m. on Wednesday to 9.00 p.m. last night.

"This is very unusual for May,'' the service's Jimmy James said. "We've almost had the total rain fall for the month of May in one system.'' Figures last night showed that for the month of May Bermuda had received 6.18 inches of rain, of which 4.15 inches fell within the last 24 hours.

And Mr. James advised locals to keep their rain gear handy since rain will continue to fall throughout most of today. The rain will decrease to occasional showers on Saturday.