Three months to the day after Hurricane Fabian wreaked havoc on Bermuda and closed the Island off to the outside world for days, things are back to normal on most fronts.

But the after-effects of the worst storm to hit Bermuda in a century are still being felt.

Thousands of roofs were damaged and some are still waiting to be repaired.

Contractors have complained about a shortage of concrete blocks, and many construction or repair jobs have been blown off course as builders dealt with emergency hurricane work.

Some of the Island?s biggest hotels such as the Fairmont Southampton and Sonesta Beach have been shut down by the storm and are not due to re-open until next Spring.

Although all households had their electricity restored within three weeks, Bermuda Electric Light Company is still dealing with the consequences of the hurricane, strengthening lines damaged by the Fabian.

Spokeswoman Linda Smith said yesterday: ?It?s not over really because we are still rehabilitating and virtually every day there are adverts in the paper advertising temporary power outages to stabilise the system for the winter storms.

?A lot of repairs were temporary and in some smaller pockets that did not go out, the storm weakened them. We are really pushing to get this done and and it will continue into the New Year.?

The last frustrated CableVision customers finally got their service back three weeks ago, although a company spokesman said yesterday that many of the repairs done were temporary, and further work will need to be done to complete the fix-up.

The National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged (NOSPC) took 250 calls and dealt with 54 cases of seniors needing help after Fabian had passed, ranging from cleaning yards to repairing roofs.

The office paid out $63,141 for work in 30 cases, mainly to seniors who did not have insurance to cover their repairs. The money was paid out to contractors after the work had been assessed by a surveyor.

The private sector also stepped up to the plate, providing just over $100,000 for seniors in need as a result of the hurricane.

In total, NOSPC handed 250 calls. In some cases it was for things the office could not handle ? such as CableVision problems ? but in others, the callers were partially insured or got help later from other sources.

Health Minister Patrice Minors said the NOSPC, which was set up last year as a one stop shop for seniors, has performed a valuable service.

?A lot of seniors did not have the appropriate insurance coverage so we were very aware of this and wanted to assist them,? she said.

?I think the donations from the private sector are a most commendable display of confidence in what Government is doing for our seniors.

?I think most seniors appreciate the level of attention that has been given to them by Government. These were challenging times and we hoped to ensure that everyone?s needs were met.?

The public sector was hit with a $45 million bill by Fabian, and Government had to shell out $16 million for repairs such as to the Causeway and South Shore near John Smith?s Bay, which cannot be covered by insurance, said Premier Alex Scott yesterday.

The Island?s link to the Airport ? and thus the world ? the Causeway, was patched up in four days and open for civilian traffic, but Government is still mulling over whether to replace it completely.

Government?s Information and Communications Services was unable this week to provide information on repairs which have still to be carried out on public buildings.

But it will be harder to determine when the Island?s natural environment which return to pre-Fabian levels.

The 150 mile per hour winds carved out ugly swathes of brown across the Island?s lush green surface.

Chief Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros said yesterday replacing mature trees such as Poincianas will take a lifetime.

But the Island has also thrown up some other surprises by recovering quickly after the battering.

?Things are coming back, in some cases surprisingly quickly, and in other cases a little bit longer,? Mr. Madeiros said.

?It depends on the species, but we were really helped by the fact that the first five or six weeks after Fabian we had a lot of rain which was instrumental in washing away the sea spray that was all over the Island. It also triggered off some quite rapid re-growth.

?The big trees that were uprooted will take a long time to replace. You can?t lose a 40-foot Poinciana and expect it to come back in less than 40 years.

?We are talking a whole human generation to come back.

?What really is of concern is that if you lose so many mature trees in woodland areas, it is an opportunity for invasive species such as the Brazilian Pepper, or Mexican Pepper, to move in.

?They were hit bad by wind burn and spray, but they have a rapid growth and tend to take the opportunity to fill a gap with their rapid growth in tight clumps and that can kill other species.

?It is an opportunity to replace more susceptible species such as Casuarina with native species that tend to stand up better to the wind.

?We are coming back well. Things that have survived for thousands of years such as cedars tend to do better than introduced species.

?This is definitely an opportunity to take advantage and try to plant more cedars and shorter stature trees that stand up better to the wind, but there is a definite shortage of cedars on the Island.

?We have collected a fair bit of seed, but it takes about a year and a half to get to replanting size, but it is worth keeping an area clear for replanting.?

Overall, the Island is coping well and has earned admiration from around the world for the way it got quickly got back on its feet.

Premier Scott said yesterday: ?The Emergency Measures Organisation has done a post-mortem, and although there are lessons to be learned, we acquitted ourselves well.

?Once the infrastructure questions have been addressed we realise there are many occasions of human trial.

?There were seniors left with difficulties and for one reason or another home-owners or landlords could not address.

?There will be assistance available to them almost immediately, as opposed to them making their own efforts.

?There are very major hotel properties that are not back to speed and will not be back in service until February, March, April or May.?