Restoration work has begun as Hurricane Ernesto drifts farther away from the island and a Hurricane Warning has been replaced by a Tropical Storm Warning.

Ernesto made landfall in Bermuda at about 5.30am Saturday, as a Category 1 hurricane, with the eye of the storm passing directly over the island over a more than three-hour period.

Despite a prolonged battering, no reports of significant damage have been received.

As of 6am on Sunday, the Bermuda Weather Service reported that the centre of the storm was 190 miles north-northeast of Bermuda and moving away from the island at 9mph.

As of 7.30am, 14,505 Belco customers remained without power.

Forecasters warned yesterday that gusts are still reaching hurricane strength and tropical storm conditions may still be felt on the island through the evening.

In a video update, Michelle Pitcher, director of the Bermuda Weather Service, said yesterday: “We are starting to see a little bit of a diminishing of the worst conditions, however, we still expect another hour or two of really strong wind gusts in the strong tropical storm force category.”

Ms Pitcher said 6.2in of rain have been recorded between 3pm on Friday and 3pm on Saturday, and more rain is expected.

“It looks as though we will be under a Tropical Storm Warning at least through early this evening, if not until midnight,” she said.

Lyndon Raynor, of the Disaster Risk Reduction Mitigation Team, said yesterday that the Bermuda Police Service and other emergency services are actively out on the road.

“They are reporting a number of downed trees and blocked roads,” he said.

“From a public safety point of view, if you do not have to be on the road, please stay off as this will assist our regiment, our public works and our parks department crews who are out clearing the roads and assisting Belco with their efforts in restoration of power.

“The Belco teams are out in full force across the island, so hopefully we will start to see the restoration of electricity across the island.”

Mr Raynor said there were “very few calls for service” and the emergency shelter at CedarBridge Academy remains in use with 11 people there.

He added that “every attempt was being made” to check the Causeway so it can be reopened as early as possible, but part of that work involves checking the underside of the structure.

“That can only be done by the structural engineer when he is able to get into a boat and safely carry out these checks,” Mr Raynor said.

“At the moment, the sea state is not good for it to happen, but we are hopeful that the seas will calm down soon enough so these checks can be done.”

He added that the reopening of the Causeway would not only allow traffic to and from the East End, but allow the airport to be reopened.

Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, said: “Even though we have been downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, we must remember that some gusts will be intense.

“We have to be mindful of that. The good news is that the weather is such that our crews are now able to be out there.

“We have to remind the public that to get Bermuda up and running as soon as possible, we have to make sure the emergency crews and the clean-up crews can do what they have got to do.

“There are a lot of downed wires and foliage, so the situation can be dangerous. For us to be out walking and driving can create more harm than good.”

The energy provider urged the public to only call 955 in the case of an emergency, such as a pole fire, and for the public to always assume downed wires are live.

The National Museum of Bermuda, located in Dockyard, recorded 88mph sustained winds and gusts to 109mph during the first half of the storm.

Meanwhile, LF Wade International Airport recorded maximum sustained winds of 56mph with gusts reaching 84mph.

The National Hurricane Centre said in its 9pm update the storm is forecast to continue its slow journey away from the island tonight, approaching Newfoundland late Monday and Monday night.

The storm remains a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 75mph with higher gusts, however, it will likely become post-tropical Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Hurricane winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the centre of the storm, while tropical storm force winds extend up to 230 miles.

“Tropical storm conditions are likely to continue on Bermuda for the next several hours,” the NHC said.

“Coastal flooding is still possible on Bermuda in areas of onshore winds. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.”

The Causeway was closed at 9pm on Friday and will remain so until the Ministry of Public Works determines it can be opened.

The emergency shelter at CedarBridge Academy in Devonshire will stay open until conditions allow for safe closure. Seniors and those without adequate shelter were urged to make use of the facility.

The Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre in St David’s will close once the Causeway has reopened. Ambulance services will continue as normal during the storm.