has "devastated'' farmers' crops.

With the end of the month still a week away, the Island managed to break the 36-year-old rainfall record for the month of May.

The Bermuda Weather Service yesterday said 10.98 inches of rain fell in only 22 days, surpassing the old record by more than two inches.

In 1961, Bermuda experienced 8.73 inches of rain.

But the record rainfall -- coming after a prolonged dry spell -- "totally devastated'' the Island's crops.

Roland Hill of J & J Produce yesterday told The Royal Gazette the rain "totally wiped out'' his crops.

"We went through February, March and April with no rain,'' Mr. Hill recalled.

"The plants got used to having no rain.

"Then too much rain came at once. The plants couldn't absorb it and disease and bacteria started to set in. It's a major devastation. I was hoping it wouldn't rain because I knew what when it finally did rain, it would be a downpour.'' Although he plans to plough and plant again, Mr. Hill said it may be too late.

"It's almost too late, it's the end of May,'' he said. "But then it's never too late in a farmer's eyes. If the weather treats us well, maybe by July, we will be harvesting something.'' Mr. Hill said he lost fields of lettuce, cabbage and strawberries to the almost 11 inches of rain.

"I have no idea how much money I've lost, I'm afraid to think about it, I'll be depressed,'' he said.

And Mr. Hill claimed that any farmer who planted leafy crops, like spinach, suffered major loses.

Earlier this month, local farmers were facing a potentially damaging drought.

To cope with the earlier dry spell, Southampton farmer Thomas Wadson, -- who operates Wadson Farm and Irrigation -- had to put his own irrigation products to good use.

He said then: "We've been getting by using micro-drip irrigation and making our own water, but I feel for the guys who rely on the weather.'' Yesterday Mr. Watson said his farm took a hard hit with heavy rains.

"We took a licking on this,'' he said. "I lost a lot of stuff.'' Heavy rain hurts farmers Farmers are not the only ones drowning as a result of history-making rainfall.

The rain also put a damper on what was a booming water delivery business.

Leading up to the heavy rainfall, water truck crews were running flat out trying to quench the thirst of homeowners.

Earl Wilson of Wilson's Action Water Service said earlier this month: "I'm real busy; right now I've got five trucks working every day, all day.'' Yesterday, Mr. Wilson's wife Phyllis said the record rainfall "washed things right out''.

But Mrs. Wilson said if the sun stayed out, in a couple of weeks thing might be "back to normal''.

Not everyone was left water-logged by the downpour.

The Island's nurseries enjoyed the showers from the heavens above.

Craig Edwards of Aberfeldy Nurseries told The Royal Gazette the centre fared the wet weather quite well.

"We made out pretty well,'' Mr. Edwards said. "Although there were some short term problems.

"Some of the little tender things might have got a little bit of fungus, but that's only in the short term. in the long term were did just fine.'' And a Government official said the rain had little impact on Bermuda's underground water reserves.

Government hydrogeologist Mark Rowe said it will take much more than one month of record rain fall to affect the Island's fresh water lenses -- the supply of water held below ground in natural ground water reserves.

VEGETABLES VEG