Today marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Fabian.

For many, memories of the worst hurricane to strike Bermuda in more than 50 years remain fresh, and for the families of the four people who lost their lives, today will be particularly painful, as our reporting shows.

But it is important that we ensure that the lessons learned from Fabian are remembered, not least as a lasting memorial to Stephen Symons, Gladys Saunders, Nicole O'Connor and Manuel Pacheco. If we ignore or forget the lessons, then they will have died in vain.

To a great extent, the lessons have been taken on board.

The Causeway is now closed to all traffic when high winds are likely, and while this can cause annoyance, it is better to err on the side of caution.

A tremendous amount of work has been done to shore up the foreshore of the Airport, which should limit the kind of damage that was done by Fabian.

A system of shelters has been established which should give protection to those people living in low lying coastal areas.

The Emergency Measures Organisation appears to be well organised and efficient in terms of coordination for oncoming hurricanes and for the aftermath.

The one area that seems to have been relatively quiescent concerns a replacement bridge for the Causeway.

While work is going on behind the scenes, no public announcements have been made for any kind of schedule, costs and the like.

This newspaper is not entirely convinced that a replacement bridge is necessary. The damage done to the Causeway was severe, but it was also the first time there had been significant damage done as a result of a storm in more than 80 years. So it is not clear whether a cost benefit analysis would make a clear case for a replacement span.

That uncertainty is offset by the possibility that Bermuda, and the western hemisphere generally, will see more intense and more frequent storms in the future, fuelled in part by climate change and sea level increases.

That seemed likely after Fabian and even more so after the dramatic hurricane season of 2005, in which Hurricane Katrina was simply the worst of many storms.

Notwithstanding the high level of storm activity this week, the Atlantic and Caribbean basin have experienced relatively low levels of storm activity since 2005, apparently contradicting the predictions of a deluge.

As this year suggests, that will not necessarily continue. Just as you prepare for the worst and hope for the best when a hurricane is coming, so Bermuda must prepare for worse storms in the future.

One area of particular concern is the Airport, even with the strengthening work that has been done. If sea levels rise, it puts the low lying Airport at more risk. For that reason, it is critical that as many safety measures are put in place as possible.

Finally, the community response after Fabian was heartwarming, as people from all walks of life came together to help one another. There were hopes then that the "Fabian spirit" would continue and seep into other parts of life.

That has not happened to any great degree; it would be a lasting tribute to Fabian's victims if it was restored.