Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith last night paid tribute to Constable Stephen Symons, the first confirmed casualty of Hurricane Fabian.

Con. Symons, 37, was one of three Police personnel swept from the Causeway on Friday afternoon alongside their car when they got trapped as the storm began to rage.

Mr. Smith said last night that the three got out of their car, presumably because it had stalled, or could not carry on any further because of debris on the road, when a wave, or a combination of a wave and wind, washed them into the sea.

His two colleagues are still missing, assumed dead, along with a civilian man whose car, which was close by, was washed into the turbulent waters.

Police recovered the body of Con. Symons, who was stationed at St. George's, at around 3 p.m. near the oil docks at Ferry Reach.

Speaking at an Emergency Measures Organisation Meeting (EMO) press conference last night, Mr. Smith said: "He was, of course, a quite long-serving officer, extremely popular and well-known in the East End and well-known throughout the Police service.

"We knew we were dealing with one of our own members of the service. The service is now dealing with the loss, and Bermuda is now dealing with the loss of a hard-working, loyal and dedicated Police officer.

"Fabian has been difficult for all of us in Bermuda. Hurricanes are always difficult for us but this one has been difficult because we have had to deal with the loss of life.

"This will hurt and we will all feel that that loss, but Bermuda Police Service will continue doing the role we are paid to do and our heart really does go out to Mr. Symons' family.

"We wish to assure all the members of the community, particularly the families of the other missing individuals to be discovered, that this makes us incredibly determined to continue our search efforts."

Mr. Smith said Con. Symons, of Hamilton Parish, and the other missing person in the civilian car entered The Causeway - which re-opens today during the day only to vehicles - at about 2.30 p.m. shortly after other cars had got through.

"The facts appear to make it clear that the three members of the Police vehicle appeared to be outside the vehicle" said Mr. Smith.

"It would seem to indicate that a wave, or water, or a combination both, moved the car and all of those around into the water shortly after 2.30 p.m.

"It would appear to be a problem with their vehicle. It may have stalled. That seems the logical explanation, or it could have become impassable because of debris in the front of behind."

He said two Police officers were trying to get a civilian duty station officer (Gladys Saunders) back home after she had finished her shift.

The EMO team said last night it was unable to give an estimate of the cost of damage caused by Fabian, nor of the number of homes where roofs were damaged or flooded.

But the president of insurers BF&M, Glenn Titterton, said yesterday there is a "very good chance" Fabian will land the island with a bigger bill than Hurricane Emily in 1987, where damage was estimated at $60 million.

Mr. Smith said 140 people had called EMO looking for tarpaulins to repair roofs, although the actual number of damaged roofs would be higher.

And insurance giant XL Capital was flying in a further 250 tarpaulins, together with ten generators and ropes.

All Government offices will be open this morning and all civil servants have been asked to return to work, but a decision on the operation of the courts will be taken this morning when structural damage is assessed.

By mid-afternoon yesterday, BELCO announced that power had been restored to 11,000 of the 25,000 residential customers hit by a power blackout, with all of the main lines expected to be energised by tomorrow or Wednesday.

However, BELCO spokeswoman Linda Smith said some homes could still be without power for weeks.

A 20-strong team from the Caribbean Electric Association in Cayman will arrive in Bermuda tomorrow to help restore power.

The Causeway will be open again to traffic during daylight hours one way until further notice, it was disclosed last night, while Police will continue to limit use at night for essential services only.

Commercial flights resume today with Delta bringing two jets in from Atlanta and Boston, while other carries will restart tomorrow.

A limited bus service between Hamilton and Dockyard will run from noon today while free ferries will operate between St. George's and St. David's to Hamilton, and Rockaway in Southampton to Hamilton.

The opening of Government schools has been delayed by a week to September 15 because of storm damage.

And while there were long lines at gas stations all day and the 24 hour Esso station in Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton, briefly ran out, residents were told there was no need to worry about food.

A spokesman for Butterfield and Vallis, the Island's biggest food importer said yesterday: "The general public should be aware that there is no need to panic. There is plenty of supply on the Island and in the pipeline."