20 October, 2014

Dear Sir,

I was particularly interested in Jonathan Kent’s “Eye spared us a worst hit” in Monday’s edition of The Royal Gazette. It was very useful, but I would like to point out that Mr Kent was a little off when he stated that only two other hurricanes of Category 2 intensity or above passed directly over the island since official hurricane database began in 1851.

The first was the catastrophic hurricane of September 1899, not 1895, which destroyed the Causeway and made it impassable for two years.

The second was the hurricane of October 1926, not 1922, which tore roofs off many of the island’s homes.

The next was Arlene in August 1963, albeit a Category 1 storm, which passed directly over the island at about noon on the 9th.

Then there was the unforgettable Emily which moved swiftly and directly over us on Friday September 25th 1987, and now we have experienced Gonzalo which of course moved directly over us, unlike Fabian which Mr Kent correctly states passed to the west of us in September 2003.

It would be interesting to know what the pressure read as Gonzalo’s eye passed over us.

It remained eerliy still for nearly an hour, which gave almost a false sense of hope, but that was surely dashed as the second half of the storm bore down on us with even more ferocity than the first half.

I recall being told that as the eye of the hurricane of 1899 passed over the island on the night of September 12th, my great-grandfather inspected the perimeter of his house and garden with a candle (this of course being during the days before electricity in Bermuda) and he noted that in the intense stillness of the eye, the candle never even flickered.

Such are the wonders of hurricanes.

Let’s hope we are spared another direct hit for many years.

Yours Truly,

JOHN WILLIAM COX