East End residents clearing up from the big storm yesterday reckoned it may have caused as much damage as Hurricane Emily in 1987.

All across the eastern end of the Island, trees and branches were strewn across roads, street lights and power lines were down, and boats were smashed up or sunk in St. George's, Bailey's Bay, Longbird Bridge and at Rocky Hill Park.

Staff and customer at The Swizzle Inn kept their spirits up on Thursday night even after their lights went our around 9 p.m.

The restaurant with packed with customers taking part in the Windows of Hope campaign to raise cash for the families of catering workers killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

"We got a good response given the weather and everyone was all dressed up in American gear," said manager Ian Leaning. "When the electricity went we used the emergency lights and started serving sandwiches and Caesar salads. It was a very romantic atmosphere and people were incredibly nice and understanding."

Massive trees were uprooted all over the East End - notably at Penno's Wharf, near the Swizzle Inn, Castle Harbour, and the Mid-Ocean Club at Tucker's Town.

Trees and branches were strewn across Castle Harbour and Mid-Ocean golf clubs as gardeners struggled to clear the fairways and green.

Around Tucker's Town, there were heavy losses of trees and many parts of the roads were partly obstructed because trees and hedges had been blown out.

Surveying the damage done to boats at Bailey's Bay, Marie Smith of Crawl, said: "It seems to be worse than Emily - it just came from nowhere."

Airport security chief Roger Brydon said the facility had had minimal damage. A few containers and debris had been flung across the runway and against the airport's fence. And Mr. Brydon said the fence itself had been moderately damaged, and would need to be re-secured in several places.

Around Somers Landing, St. George's, residents were forced to clear rubble blown out from the beach which was blocking the road.

But while the Old Town was being battered with high winds yesterday at lunchtime, over the hill was a totally different story.

The tiny beach of Achilles Bay, below Blackbeard's bar, was almost totally calm as American tourists Kathy Lynch from Erie Pennsylvania, and Joanne Aldrich, enjoyed a spot of sunbathing.

"We've been here before during storms, but last night was pretty wild. It happened a few years ago and I was on the beach then, too," said Mrs. Aldrich.

At nearby Tobacco Bay, the beach was busy as dozens of visitors went swimming and snorkelling, sheltered from the winds whipping nearby St. George's.