Bermuda troops on a mercy mission to hurricane-devastated Turks & Caicos braced themselves last night for a second storm, which struck this morning.

As of this afternoon, Hurricane Maria was headed slowly away from Grand Turk — but hurricane conditions are expected to remain in effect for the territory.

The storm hit after Bermuda soldiers raced against time to prepare themselves and the local population for a second wave of damage from the Category 3 storm.

Major Corey Smalley, the Royal Bermuda Regiment commander on the ground, said: “Our morale is really high — this is what our soldiers are trained for, what they’re experts in. This is the core role of the Regiment, so they can use that expertise and pass it on to Grand Turk.”

He added: “Predictions for the storm vary, but we’re preparing for the very worst and hoping for the best.”

Major Smalley was speaking as his troops left their base at Grand Turk’s airport and were divided into three immediate response teams stationed at the three civilian shelters on the island, one in an old community college and two in schools.

Major Smalley said: “They have been clearing debris and making sure there is a safe environment for people to hunker down in.

“They have also been providing reassurance and pre-positioning specialised equipment.

“Once the all clear is given, they’ll carry out a rapid needs assessment, providing life-saving first aid if needed and clear roads from each of the emergency centres to the main roads and key buildings like the hospital, the airport, fire station and the ambulance station.”

Major Smalley was based at Grand Turk’s House of Assembly in the Premier’s office, which became the nerve centre for relief operations, while Sergeant Major Peter Ramm was stationed at the airport with a view to getting it back up and running as soon as possible after Maria’s passage.

Major Smalley said that, despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma earlier this month, the local population was bearing up well.

He added: “Their mood is one of a little bit of nervousness because after Irma there were only three buildings with electricity on the island, so they haven’t had the luxury of wi-fi or TV, although people do have radios.”

Major Smalley said that pulling out of the aid effort before Maria struck had never been considered.

He added: “It’s always been the intention, as soon as we heard about Maria, to stay here so we’re in the right place at the right time to provide all the help we can.”

A total of seven people have been confirmed dead in Dominica, the first island hit by the Category 5 storm, and two deaths were reported in the French island of Guadeloupe.

Maria then battered the British Virgin Islands, where it did not cause as much damage as initially feared, before ploughing into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane. After causing widespread damage to the US territory, which was left without electricity, Maria headed for the Dominican Republic before continuing towards the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the southeastern Bahamas.

This morning, Maria was forecast to curve north over the weekend, heading out into the Atlantic — and potentially passing to the west of Bermuda in the early hours of next Wednesday.

Yesterday Bermuda Weather Service director James Dodgson said Maria would have a similar effect on Bermuda as Hurricane Jose, describing its predicted track for the next two days as “very confident”.

But he added: “However, thereafter some divergence in the model guidance develops, and this reduces confidence in the longer range track.”

He said the longer range track uncertainties are higher because this depends on how much the storm “encroaches on our protective cell of high pressure.”

“At the moment Maria is expected to take a passage to our west early next week as it marches northwards, roughly halfway in between Bermuda and the US East Coast.

“The reason for this track — very similar to the one Jose took — is due to a weakness on the western flank of our high pressure ridge that was carved out by Jose. If our ridge stays stronger, Maria will make a more distant western passage. If our ridge is weaker, Maria will likely make a closer passage.

Mr Dodgson added: “At any rate we will likely see increasing winds early next week, with Maria steering some weather towards us in the guise of showers and possible thunderstorms — again much like when Jose passed to our west.”

He added that by the weekend, Maria’s path should be clearer.

According to the BWS, Maria was 685 nautical miles south-southwest of Bermuda, bearing northwest at 8mph, as of noon today.

The storm’s closest point of approach within three days was expected to be 366 nautical miles to the west-southwest at noon on Monday — but Maria could shift closer to the island after the 72-hour forecast.

The National Hurricane Centre expects the storm to feel the effects of wind shear today, and to weaken further as it heads out into waters that were cooled “significantly” by the passage of Hurricane Jose.

“Maria will be moving between the subtropical ridge to the east and a broad trough over the southeastern United States and the adjacent Atlantic waters during the next several days,” the NHC added.