The Island’s historic properties escaped largely unscathed despite the 100 miles per hour winds and torrential rain that lashed us as Hurricane Joaquin passed to the west.

Jennifer Gray, executive director of the Bermuda National Trust, said the old buildings had again withstood the test of time with a “few minor leaks and damaged shutters”.

Meanwhile, farmer Tom Wadson acknowledged that the after-effects of the powerful system could have been a lot worse for the farming community.

“These kind of things are never good news for us, but we managed to hold on to most of our stuff,” he told The Royal Gazette. “There are a few crops that are touch and go, some peppers and other produce, but we’ll have a clearer idea of how bad the damage is in the coming days. All the animals were fine this year, we did a lot of preparation to make sure they would be safe, as well as regular check ups and that paid off.

“We lost a greenhouse cover but that is pretty much par for the course.

“There are certainly a few more challenges we’ll need to deal with, but it could have been a lot worse. We will keep our head down and keep working.”

The National Trust will embark on a thorough inspection of its open spaces and nature reserves in the coming days.

Ms Gray urged the public to report any felled trees or blocked trails that need immediate attention to palmetto@bnt.bm.

“We are relieved to find our collection of historical homes unscathed after the close encounter from Hurricane Joaquin,” she said. “The rattling and shaking of wooden timbers frames and roof structures loosened a lot of dust and debris leaving us with countless hours of cleaning ahead in our museums.

“We reach out to anyone who can spare an hour or two this Thursday between 10am and 2pm to join us at the Globe Museum in St George for a dusting and cleaning social.

“We ducked another missile, tested our Hurricane Plan and are pleased that the dedicated team at the Trust worked well into the night on Saturday and managed to prepare all of our most important buildings and that the damage in the aftermath was minimal.”

Anyone who would like to take part in this Thursday’s event should contact pfrith@bnt.bm.