Transport Minister Ewart Brown's newly built luxury Gombey House was gutted by the storm while he was away on holiday - one of many houses on the South Shore hit by the surging seas.

Waves broke over the tops of two-storey houses and battered the properties for hours as Fabian passed over the Island.

Dr. Brown had not been able to board up the new house or laid sand bags at the low-lying property - but they would have been useless as the seas left the home in Smith's under three feet of water as the storm surge hit.

Dr. Brown lives in the house with his new bride, Wanda Henton. The couple were married recently in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The house which sits just yards from the open sea and is barely above sea level suffered both wind and water damage and the newly landscaped garden was wiped out.

The sea washed through the house, breaking the French doors off their hinges on the South-facing side of the home. Clearly visible from the back garden was the house's living room furniture still in place but badly damaged by the surge.

The walls around the garden were flattened and strewn across what had been the lawn and pathway was covered in debris - air conditioners, a large gas cylinder, garden furniture, a cooler, wood, branches and piping.

The roof was not damaged at all, but the house was filled with mud from the sea surge.

The pool was left intact and was filled with mud and sea water, but the pool house lost doors and windows.

Neighbour Troy Brown, who lives two houses up the hill from Dr. Brown said: "The water was coming up the main road to my house - through Dr. Brown's property. It came up at about 3 p.m. and stayed until the storm ended.

"We saw waves breaking over Dr. Brown's house - it is amazing the roof stayed on and there is so little damage to the roof and the rest of the house."

Mr. Brown helped his neighbours who live below him evacuate from their house as the waters rose and took them into his own home.

Anthony Jaoquin, another neighbour of Dr. Brown said they had lived in the area for 17 years and never seen anything like this storm.

"This is the worst we have ever seen," said Mr. Jaoquin. "With the amount of water that was spraying up and coming over the house, it is amazing that the roof stayed on. We expected the house to come apart after the amount of water came through the property."

Cloverdale House, an apartment block next door to Dr. Brown, was also washed out by the seas. Its front doors were bashed in and sand was washed up 40 feet into the block.

On the other side of Dr. Brown, Dr. Hywell Colley's house was also battered by the storm, and his pool filled with sea water. Dr. Colley and his wife declined to comment on how they fared in the storm.