Public Safety Minister David Burch said what most Bermudians were thinking when he said Bermuda "dodged a bullet" with Hurricane Igor.

That's not to say that Igor was not a serious hurricane, nor does it downplay the damage that was caused. Some people today are making repairs and discovering that they were not as secure as they thought.

But it could have been much worse. If Igor had retained its strength, or, had it, even in its weakened state, continued its beeline for Bermuda, the damage would have been terrible. As it was, the major inconvenience for most people was the loss of electricity.

One of the challenges of Igor was the extreme length of time that the storm took to reach the Island and the tendency of people to rubberneck and tour the Island in the run-in. to the storm. But that is a reasonably minor concern compared to what could have gone wrong.

On the whole, the pre-hurricane preparations went well. Some people may be tempted to say that the severity of the storm was exaggerated given what actually happened. Others will be complacent because the storm was not as severe as expected.

Neither attitude is wise. Based on the best available projections through Saturday, Igor looked very dangerous indeed, and it was only on Sunday that it began to weaken. And no one should underestimate the potential of a hurricane when it misses; the next one might not.

Since Fabian, Bermudians are generally very cautious about hurricanes, and rightly so. It is good news that the Causeway survived this storm, but worries have been raised about the strength of the temporary Longbird Bridge replacement and what might happen to it in the event of a direct it by a hurricane.

It is also somewhat surprising that only two shelters were planned, both in the central parishes at Berkeley and CedarBridge.

There are low lying areas of the Island that are susceptible to storm surge in the East and West Ends. It might make sense to have shelters available at Sandys Secondary Middle School and Clearwater Middle School as well.

Igor was notable for the size and strength of the surge, and one hesitates to think what might have happened to many homes and facilities on the South Shore if it had been a direct hit. On that note, it is time that the Department of Planning looked very closely at restricting further development on the foreshore, especially on the South Shore.

Even if hurricanes only strike Bermuda once a decade or so, the dangers are clear. At the very least, it seems certain that insurance companies will become more and more reluctant to insure homes built right on the water.

There are two final points to consider and to remember.

Igor was a very big and very dangerous hurricane of a kind that is becoming all too common. This newspaper continues to believe that in this climate change era, whatever the causes, hurricanes will be more dangerous and more frequent.

Likewise, Bermuda may have dodged a bullet this time, but it is just a matter of time before Bermuda takes a matter of time before the Island takes a direct hit. We need to take the lessons from each storm and apply them to the planning for the next one. We must always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.