A "thankful, grateful" Bermuda will be back in business today — with flights and public transport running and most homes with power — after Hurricane Igor proved far less devastating than predicted.

The 100 mph winds and torrential rain that lashed the Island on Sunday evening caused only minor injuries to a few, according to the authorities, and did not wreak disastrous damage, as feared.

Public Safety Minister David Burch said yesterday that Bermuda seemed to have "dodged a bullet in a significant way".

Premier Ewart Brown told a press conference: "I am pleased to stand before you as the leader of a thankful, grateful, united country.

"Together the people of Bermuda faced Hurricane Igor with hope for the best, while determined to deal with the worst. Our hopes have been rewarded and our prayers answered. No lives have been lost and we have avoided catastrophic damage."

The Causeway was partially damaged but reopened at 3 p.m. yesterday for one-way traffic and the Emergency Measures Organisation reported in a statement: "There have been no reports of any deaths or major injuries as a result of Hurricane Igor."

But the weekend was not without drama or mishap, as boats were torn from their moorings and sent crashing onto the rocks, homes flooded, a utility pole crashed on a roof, trees and branches flew through the air and Bermuda Regiment soldiers carried out at least two rescue missions.

The power went out for almost 29,000 people overnight on Sunday; it was expected to have been restored to all but about 5,000 homes by today.

Three baby girls were born at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital — two while the hospital was on hurricane lockdown, which ended at noon yesterday.

The first came at 9.26am on Sunday, weighing 6 lb 10oz. The second (7 lb 14oz) arrived at 11.29 a.m. yesterday, followed by a third (6 lb 11oz) at 12.47 p.m.

Igor — which weathermen warned could batter Bermuda with winds as fierce as Hurricane Fabian in 2003 — ended up being much less intense than feared.

It dropped from a possible Category 3 on Friday to Category 1 by Sunday morning and veered to the west as it approached the Island, although its sheer size meant it lingered for longer than could usually be expected.

The strongest winds recorded were sustained winds of 92 mph and gusts of 117 miles per hour in St. David's at 12 a.m.; Commissioner's Point recorded 116 mph at 12.40 a.m.; and L.F. Wade International Airport 93 mph at 11.20 p.m.

The closest point of impact for the centre of the eye was 35 nautical miles from the airport at midnight on Sunday. However, the storm's eye was so wide — 50 nautical miles — that some of the outer section passed over the west of the Island, rendering it a direct hit.

The storm left roads mostly passable but covered in trees, branches and other debris.

Dr. Brown spent the day travelling around the country, checking on the damage as a clean-up got under way.

"I am proud to report that, despite the fact that many Bermudians are still without electricity, the mood is upbeat, optimistic and positive," he said.

"From the neighbours helping to move debris from each other's yards, to the people helping to clear the streets, it has been all hands on deck — one people, one country, united to get Bermuda up and running again.

"When we look at our homes, our businesses, even our flowers and trees, we have been spared a terrible tragedy. For that we are thankful."

Senator Burch, chairman of the Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO), said at yesterday's 5.30 p.m. press conference that the Regiment would be stood down within the hour.

About half of the army was embodied on Sunday morning. Apart from helping to clear the runway at L.F. Wade International Airport and other areas of storm debris, soldiers evacuated a 26-year-old life support patient and transported him to King Edward VII after the power went out at his Paget home.

Captain Chris Gauntlett told The Royal Gazette the patient — who was paralysed in a car accident several years ago — was moved to hospital on Sunday afternoon, before the winds got too severe.

"The ambulance from the hospital wasn't able to collect him. He's virtually dependent on life support equipment so a power outage presented a problem. They had a generator but it was decided to take him to hospital."

Regiment soldiers also helped three people whose car got stuck in sand on a beach late Sunday.

Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre said the grounding of the government-owned three-deck Bermudian ferry was the most significant misadventure at sea.

A duty officer said the centre was informed by Police just after 6 p.m. on Sunday that the vessel had broken from its moorings in St. George's harbour and run aground at Wellington Slip Road.

"We have had some other vessels aground," he said. "The other ones are smaller, private yachts that have broken their moorings."

Dr. Brown was unable to give an estimate of the cost of clearing up after Igor. "It's too early," he said last night. "There are still some assessments going on. I can tell you just with my own untrained eye that it will be significantly less than with Fabian."

Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide said the damage was expected to cost insurers less than $100 million, due to the Island's building standards to protect structures from the wind.

The Royal Navy's destroyer HMS Manchester was still heading to Bermuda yesterday afternoon after a rough voyage, according to Sen. Burch. It had been on standby with a helicopter to assess the damage after the hurricane passed.

The emergency shelter at CedarBridge Academy was used by 67 people, including a few children.

Volunteers said people — some homeless and some who felt unsafe at home — were still walking into the venue at the height of the hurricane.

The hospital's emergency room treated 22 people between 9 a.m. Sunday and 10.30 a.m. yesterday and the Lambe Foggo urgent care centre in the east end treated eight people. None were for storm-related injuries. Doctors treated a few people for minor injuries connected to the storm later yesterday.

Today, L.F. Wade International Airport will reopen and all flights are expected to arrive and depart. Buses will be running from 6 a.m. and the pink public ferry service will resume at noon.

Schools will remain closed until tomorrow, with the exception of the Bermuda Institute, which will be open today.

Having now passed Bermuda, Igor was yesterday continuing to weaken as it headed north east across the Atlantic, although it was still causing rip torrents along the New Jersey shore.

• The public can call the EMO at 292-6325 or 292-6339.