Some nine million gallons of water fell on the Island in just seven hours during a downpour that caused widespread flooding on May 6.

The statistic was shared with MPs by Minister of Works and Engineering Derrick Burgess in a statement to the House of Assembly during which he pledged that the Highways section will step up maintenance of storm drains.

The flash floods on May 6 rendered many roads impassable, damaged properties across the Island and caused power outages in Southampton.

Heavy rains on May 13 also caused widespread flooding, with Bermuda Fire Service responding to some 26 incidents by mid-afternoon.

Mr. Burgess admitted that storm drains were "overwhelmed" on those occasions, and urged homeowners and construction workers to help prevent similar problems in future.

"It is, of course, critically important that storm drain devices are regularly cleared. Over time, these drains are inevitably clogged by various forms of debris, including fallen vegetation," he noted.

"The significant increase in construction sites around the Island has also led to construction debris being washed into the storm drains, with resultant blockages. Once blocked, the drain's ability to function as designed is badly hampered.

"A number of storm drains along public roads were clogged at the time of the recent heavy rainfall and the Highways section has renewed its commitment to ensure that such drains are cleared of debris on a regular basis.

"The Ministry requests that construction sites arrange to shore up their building material so that it does not wash into the roadway. The Ministry also encourages members of the public to remove vegetation debris from the public roads once they have completed pruning their roadside trees and shrubs, as these activities are the most common and single largest contributors to blocked drains in the Bermuda."

Mr. Burgess said that high tides also slow down the drainage of flood water runoff, which was a factor during recent incidents.