Bermuda "seems to have dodged a bullet in a significant way," with Hurricane Igor, according to Public Safety Minister David Burch.

And Premier Ewart Brown said: "I do believe Bermuda will be back in business by the end of the week."

Speaking yesterday morning, hours after the storm blew over, Sen. Burch told The Royal Gazette: "We've done exceptionally well under the circumstances. I've no reports of any injuries which is a big plus. Some reports of minor damage. I stayed home last night so I drove from Southampton into Hamilton this morning.

"I'm impressed with the minimal level of damage in terms of trees down and also the efficiency of Parks and the Regiment in clearing it already. So I think we're in reasonably good shape."

He also praised Island residents for the way they handled the storm.

"I think they have to be commended, because we're so cavalier sometimes, but I think that everybody took it seriously and as a result we have the outcome that we had hoped for."

"There was some minor criminal activity in the Country, break and enters. You expect it to happen but I'm surprised that anyone in their half right mind would be out in the weather we had last night."

Asked for his message to the public, Sen. Burch said: "I'd like to thank them for taking this seriously, responding to the warnings that were given, and as a result we've come out the other end with no loss of life and no injuries far as we can establish at the moment. So well done Bermuda."

Meanwhile Dr. Brown said: "What I'm hearing is good news, that first of all, no loss of life has been recorded, and no serious injuries, and I think that's the first thing to give thanks for.

"We have a considerable amount of debris in some of the roads and certain areas of Bermuda, but we can fix that. Bermuda has two excellent lines of defence, if you will, against hurricanes. One is that our building codes are such that our structures can resist most storms. The next line of defence is how well we can clean up and that's where we are today. It's already been assessed and the next step will be fixing it. That will be the next test for us."

Dr. Brown said it is too early to tell how long it will take to repair the damage, or how much it will cost. However, he said: "If I base it on what happened during Fabian, I do believe Bermuda will be back in business by the end of the week."

Dr. Brown's home, Gombey House, on the South Shore in Smith's, was hit badly during Hurricane Fabian. This time, he and his wife Wanda opted to board the property up and spend Saturday and Sunday nights at the Hamilton Princess.

The property did not suffer major damage this time, but the cover blew off the hot tub in the back yard and disappeared and the infinity pool got filled with seawater.

"We did everything we could to prepare the house and I think it's done well actually. We've taken a fair amount of damage on the outside, right on the water, which is what you would expect. But internally there is no evidence at this point of any structural damage," he said.