About 4,730 residents were still without power as of 5pm today — down from 8,291 at the start of the morning — after nearly 28,000 Belco customers lost electricity as a result of Tropical Storm Fay.

“Tonight, Belco crews will continue working to restore power to customers on main circuits and larger branch lines, with the goal of restoring power to the largest number of customers possible with each job,” a spokeswoman said.

“Crews will also work to ensure that power has been restored to key buildings and services. Much of the work is focused on installing poles.

“At this point in the restoration process, we are asking customers to call 955 to report their outages, particularly if neighbours have power, but they do not.”

Fallen debris remains in the Island’s roads but most are relatively clear, allowing Belco crews to carry out “significant work that needs to be done today”.

The organisation also advised members of the public without power or with only partial power to unplug appliances and sensitive electronics to prevent damage when the power is turned on.

“As residents today continue to deal with the debris, please be cautious for wires that may be entangled or under debris and treat them as if they were live — specifically, stay away from wires and report it,” the spokeswoman said.

According to the Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO), the remaining electrical outages represent six mainline circuits.

“Concentration today will remain on restoration of the mainline circuits,” said a statement. “The plan is to complete 17 mainline pole installations today and Belco has engaged outside contractors to install the poles so that crews can follow them and do the line work.

The Ministry of Public Works said in a statement released just after 12.30pm that Department of Parks crews were working on clearing debris at the Island’s public schools and on South Shore Road from Tee Street east to Melville Estate; Middle Road from Store Hill east to Whitney Institute; Verdmont Road to John Barritt & Sons; St Mark’s Road from McGall’s Hill to Verdmont; Euclid Avenue/St. John’s Road; and Orange Valley Road.

At 6.20pm, the EMO said road crews were continuing to clear debris, downed power lines and trees from the Island’s roadways, and that crews had worked throughout the day to conduct the necessary clearance work.

Bermuda Regiment Soldiers were continuing to assist with the clearance of debris on the roads as well as assisting residents who experienced storm damage. The Regiment will be on hand tomorrow to provide added assistance to Parks and Public Works crews on the roadways and at the Island’s schools.

Motorists are encouraged to avoid Harbour Road as there are repair works taking place.

West End garbage is being collected today and residents are asked to take their trash bags to main roads for collection.

A statement said that as side roads become clear of debris, regular service will resume.

The Department of Parks has closed the Botanical Gardens grounds to the general public for health and safety reasons.

The statement said that runners, walkers and dog handlers, in particular, should avoid entering the grounds due to the danger posed by trees that are down and low-lying branches hanging from the trees.

“We have partially opened the east end [of the park] for patrons going to Masterworks but vehicular traffic is restricted from Berry Hill Road to the small car park before Camden House.

“The remaining portion of the roadways in and around Camden House and down to South Shore Road, as well as the parking lots by the Visitor Centre, are closed to vehicular traffic.

“The staff from the Department of Parks are out assisting with the clearance of the roads so there will be no works started within Botanical Gardens or the parks and beaches for several days as the priorities are to get all roads cleared for two-lane traffic, as well as all schools cleared so that they can reopen.

“The Department has not fully assessed conditions at parks and beaches so the general public are asked to use extreme caution. The Department of Parks apologises for the inconvenience and the patience and cooperation of the general public is greatly appreciated.”

The City of Hamilton has advised that its parks are closed pending a safety assessment.

LF Wade International Airport is running as normal, despite roof damage sustained in the storm.

In other Government announcements, ferry services have resumed as normal. Bus services were suspended this morning but resumed at noon for routes 7, 8, 10 and 11.

Route 6, the St George’s/St David’s service, resumed this evening.

To help with the disposal of debris, both Marsh Folly and Tyne’s Bay Waste Treatment Facility will be open until 6pm today. All dumping fees will be waived.

Anyone needing tarpaulins to cover damaged roofs can collect them from Warwick Camp or the Government Quarry until 8pm. Tarpaulin will be provided tomorrow at these two facilities starting at 8am.

In a statement issued on behalf of the One Bermuda Alliance, party chairman Lynne Woolridge thanked the community for post-storm recovery efforts.

“Members of the community do come together at times like these, to help get Bermuda back to normal, but the community on its own cannot get the whole job done,” Senator Woolridge said.

“We appreciate the valuable services of the Belco crews, BTC crews, the Regiment, Works and Engineering, Fire Services, the police, hospital staff and all the other helping services that this morning are hard at it.

“We appreciate the valuable services of the Emergency Measures Organisation itself, without which work would not be properly prioritised and coordinated.

“I would like to thank all of them for the work they are doing. They are part of what makes Bermuda such a special place and I have no doubt that they will have us back to normal in no time.”

Elsewhere, the Bermuda Hotel Association reported that some properties experienced storm-related damage and that they were working with those entities to assist visitors.

The Royal Gazette will post updates to this article as we receive them today.