A massive breakdown in communication led Police to evacuate the West End on Saturday without first checking if a rumoured tidal wave was actually heading for the Island, sources have told The Royal Gazette.

Officers were deployed to Dockyard and Somerset village to urge people to head east or get to higher ground after a flurry of calls from worried members of the public about large waves breaking on the northern reef line.

Bermuda Police Service was remaining tight-lipped last night about why the operation was launched without checks being made with experts at Bermuda Weather Service — who could have explained that the dramatic horizon was simply the result of stormy weather last week and an exceptionally clear day. But a source within the service — who asked to remain anonymous — said: "There was a major breakdown in communication and there has to be a full investigation. They messed up. They didn't follow simple procedures. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. They had to make critical decisions in what they viewed as minutes.

The intentions of those individuals was pure and that was to safeguard the public."

Another highly-placed source added: "The Police Service raised the alarm without first checking whether the threat was real in the belief that time was of the essence and that lives were at risk."

Public Safety Minister David Burch issued a statement on Saturday promising an urgent investigation into "the circumstances surrounding the communication of this event to the general public".

He told ZBM television news last night that any changes to the Police's emergency response procedures would have to be implemented by the Governor.

Sen. Burch did not respond to an emailed request for comment from The Royal Gazette yesterday but a Government spokeswoman said he would not elaborate on his statement.

A Police spokesman said: "At this point in time we will defer to the comments of the Minister and he has stated that there will be a full investigation into the incident and we will await the findings of that investigation."

The Police source told this newspaper that 911 calls started to flood in about a "tidal wave or tsunami" at about 11.15 a.m.

It is understood that the decision to immediately send officers to the west end to get those most at risk to safety was taken without the authority of a senior officer. Measures taken included a road blockade being set up at Barnes Corner to prevent motorists getting to the west end, buses being turned back and ferries to Dockyard being cancelled.

"They tried their best to warn the people that they thought were in dangerous areas," said the Police source. "When they contacted the appropriate agencies they recognised that this thing was safe but the rumour mill had done its part.

"Was it a comedy of errors? Yes. It's very clear where the breakdown was. All the information comes to one central point."

Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre — also known as Harbour Radio — first received a call from the Police at 11.36 a.m. and another from Marine Police at 11.40 a.m. At that point a duty officer reported that there were waves breaking on the northern reef line but that it was nothing unusual for the time of year.

The message that there was no cause for concern does not appear to have been relayed immediately to officers out in the field, who continued to try to clear the west end.

Meanwhile, the rumour of a giant wave heading for land spread rapidly across the Island. Terrified Islanders - plus people as far away as New York and Miami - flooded the Maritime Operations Centre and Bermuda Weather Service with calls, while others were unable to use their telephones due to the system being swamped.

Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre Chief Radio Officer Dennis Rowe said: "From about 12 o'clock local time until about 1.30 p.m. we had non-stop calls, about six or seven lines, with people all scared out of their wits. For about an hour and a half we were basically just speaking with members of the public and trying to calm them down. We had hundreds of calls."

Lou McNally at the Weather Service claimed Police did not check with meteorologists as to whether there was a real threat. But he said the service's three phone lines did not stop ringing for 90 minutes until a message explaining that there was no emergency was put on its cable weather channels and website.

He said the waves which people could see were "absolutely not out of the ordinary" and that their large appearance was caused by a number of weather conditions, including cold air acting like a lens and exaggerating their size and wind pushing the waves up over the reef.

A spokesman at Government House, the Governor's official residence, confirmed that Sir John Vereker was operationally responsible for the Police but added that he always worked with the Minister on policing issues.

The pair are due to meet tomorrow (Tues) when the spokesman said Saturday's events would be discussed. The spokesman added: "It is always better to be safe than sorry."

He said it was clear that there were "network and other communication difficulties" which needed to be looked into by the Island's Emergency Measures Organisation. The EMO was not involved on Saturday.

David Adcock, a fisherman from Sandys, scoffed at the Police reaction. He said: "The Police have to call Harbour Radio first. This must have cost thousands of dollars in lost business and wasted Police time. What was seen today is seen every winter."

Taxi driver Barclay Carmichael said: "It just shows the naivety of Bermudians and the Police. How could something so silly happen? It's a national embarrassment."

But Ronnie Thorne, owner of Salt Rock Grill restaurant and one of the first people to dial 911, said: "The Police responded fantastically. Those breakers are very deceiving out there."

A comedy of errors blamed for mass evacuation