Bermuda was lashed by gusts of up to 120 miles per hour this morning as Tropical Storm Fay hit the Island, leaving 27,000 residents without power and roads blocked with debris.

The Bermuda Weather Service station at Commissioner’s Point at Dockyard — which stands 150 feet above sea level — unofficially recorded sustained winds of 115mph with gusts higher than that.

Meanwhile construction crews were out along South Road in Smiths and Devonshire this morning clearing a trail of debris, downed branches and downed electrical lines. And the clear-up operation was bolstered by 100 Regiment soldiers.

This morning the Ministry of National Security advised that several roads were impassable. The storm was powerful enough to dislodge containers at the Hamilton docks.

Acting Premier, Trevor G. Moniz, urged residents to stay off the roads while work crews from various agencies work to clear blocked areas.

Minister Moniz said, “We are aware of some damage to property and of downed trees and power lines.

“The safest thing is for people to remain at home and allow the important work that follows this kind of storm to be done safely and by the responsible agencies. I am in close contact with the Premier (who is off the island) and I have asked the Commissioner of Police to convene a meeting of the Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) so that we can properly assess the damage and ensure that Bermuda gets back to normal operation as soon as possible.”

This morning Premier Michael Dunkley urged householders to stay home.

He tweeted: “Bda hope you are all safe today. Let’s rally and help neighbors. The EMO is meeting shortly and crews will be out to clear roads. Stay home.”

The City of Hamilton was also battered by the Tropical Storm.

This morning Reid Street was impassable close to the junction with Court Street due to downed trees, while some buildings along Reid Street also sustained major damage.

A spokesman for the Weather Service said that the highest winds were estimated to have hit the Island between 7am and 8.20am this morning. She added: “I say unofficially as that station malfunctioned at the height of the strongest winds and the data needs to be examined at a later time.”

The strongest winds recorded at the airport were 70mph — but with gusts close to 82mph as the back of the eyewall of TS Fay passed the Island.

She said: “These winds were enhanced by embedded thunderstorms with heavy rain that were associated with the eyewall.” But the spokeswoman said winds — which wreaked havoc on the roads toppled trees — were expected to decrease throughout the rest of the morning. The airport itself had widespread flooding in the terminal building.

Sunday’s football fixtures were also cancelled as a result of the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay.

The storm escalated rapidly before sunrise, with Spanish Point resident Charles Rebello reporting that “all hell broke loose” at his Stovell Bay Road property around 5am.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my 82 years,” Mr Rebello said. “I thought it was going to be an ordinary wind, but it turned into much more. Trees were bent double. All kinds of trees were coming down. It’s going to take me weeks to clean it up.”

By 9 am the US National Hurricane Centre advised Tropical Storm Fay was some 85 miles north-northeast of Bermuda and moving away from the Island at 20 miles per hour.

Drivers have been warned to stay off main roads, since Tropical Storm Fay has brought down trees all over the Island. Many of the main roads are down to single lanes of traffic in areas, and others are blocked entirely. Scattered flooding and a number of damaged buildings have also been reported.

A spokesman for the Ministry of National Security said that crews from the Ministry of Public Works were assessing road conditions this morning.

He added: “The public is strongly urged to stay off the main roads until they can be properly cleared.

“The Ministry encourages the public’s cooperation in this regard.”

And he added that regular updates on the road situation would be released throughout the day.

As of 11:15am this morning The Bermuda Weather Service issued the following update: “We are still under tropical storm conditions and a tropical storm warning, as per the latest updated 8am forecast.

“Today — winds west-northwesterly 40 to 50 knots gusts to 70 knots, soon veering northwesterly then decreasing 20 to 30 knots gusts to 40 knots by noon. Heavy rains with thunder and occasionally very poor visibility, becoming scattered showers by midday. Seas inside the reef 2ft to 4 ft. Outside the reef, 10ft to 15 ft, decreasing during the evening.

“However, as you will note there is a gradual easing in the wind strength into the afternoon as Tropical Storm Fay accelerates east-northeast out of our area, and the Tropical Storm warning is very likely to be dropped at midday.

“As for the forecast beyond, much improved conditions are still expected as high pressure builds in from the north.”

Warwick Academy will be closed tomorrow for students. Any staff able to come to the school on Monday to assist with cleaning up damage caused by Tropical Storm Fay are asked to do so. The school will announce tomorrow whether it will be open for classes on Tuesday.

Around 100 Bermuda Regiment soldiers were called up for action to help clear up after Tropical Storm Fay hit the Island.

And five specially-trained and equipped Immediate Response Teams (IRTs) were ready to pitch in and help clear roads and assist other agencies as required.

Regiment Commanding Officer Lt Col Michael Foster-Brown said: “We’re standing by to support in any we can.

“We have a group of extremely well-trained people who are very useful in a crisis.”

One of CableVision’s satellite feeds was also affected by last night’s tropical storm.

CEO, Terry Roberson, said: “As a result of Tropical Storm Fay one of our satellite feeds was damaged, which affected several channels and we are currently working to restore this.

“In addition our mainline technicians are assessing other damage across the island, although our fibre nodes are slowly coming back up.

“The headend and internal infrastructure were not damaged.”

Updates will follow on this article throughout today.”