More than a dozen properties in Boaz Island Village in Somerset were flooded as Hurricane Igor brought huge surges in the sea.

Residents in the community, near Woodys Drive Inn Bar and Restaurant, had inches of water in their backyards after hours of wind and heavy rain took its toll.

But by early yesterday afternoon most of the excess water had dried up, said resident Susan Sims.

"We constantly had an inch or two inches of water flowing in and out of our patio. On the street side the water was all the way up to the top of the kerb."

"Pools of water were forming on the grass all the way from the corner of the wall to my house (four yards away)."

But according to Mrs. Sims, the flooding was nothing like what residents of Boaz Island experienced with Hurricane Fabian in 2003. Seven years ago, the waves were so strong they dissolved the entire sea wall and some of the water flooded into homes, she said.

"What it was doing was as the wind intensified it was actually picking up the seawater and it was bringing the waves over the wall and right into our houses here. We all had flooding."

Residents were well prepared for the hurricane this time around, said village chairperson Gloria-Lee Franklin.

In addition to sending out an e-mail to the community on Saturday, Mrs. Franklin and husband Troy picked up sandbags for neighbours from the Bermuda Regiment.

Still Mrs. Franklin had between one and two inches of water flooding into the downstairs of her home, including kitchen, dining and living rooms — and predicted it would take several days to fix the damage.

"It is probably going to take the rest of the week to clean up. A lot of people have come here this morning, checking on us, asking if we need help."

On the upside, most homes in the area did not lose power, said Mrs. Sims, who said the area was lucky to have escaped major damage.

"I haven't been anywhere else in Bermuda, yet as far as Boaz Island I think we have a lot to be thankful for."