The Island was back to normal last night after a storm on Sunday night left some homes and businesses without power and telephones yesterday - including the 9-11 emergency service.

Belco said five circuits were affected by the lightning, hitting homes in the Pembroke, Paget and Warwick area. Emergency crews worked through the night to restore power by 4.45 a.m.

But eight transformers were also hit, affecting about 100 homes in Pembroke and Paget. Most of those were back on yesterday morning, but the Langton Hill area was not restored until about 8.30 p.m. last night.

The storm also directly hit BTC's telephone equipment housed in its Exchange Building in Paget. Although service was affected for many customers, it was fully restored yesterday.

The most critical interruption was the 9-11 emergency calls from Paget, as well as calls to Police headquarters and the Fir Service. This service was restored by 10 a.m.

And the lightening strike, believed to be one of the worst in recent history, also hit a home in St. Michael's Road, Paget, soon into yesterday morning, creating two holes in the chimney and roof. The fire brigade was called to deal with the situation, and no one was hurt.