Drivers did their best to navigate flooding this morning after a deluge of heavy rainfall across the island.

The heaviest of the rainfall was recorded during the “rush hour” commute and around the same time as high tide, exacerbating flooding.

Motorists said the roads were like “rivers” that seemed almost impassable in places, including Woodlands Road, a common flooding site.

However, some made the best of the situation, with a recording of a man rowing a kayak on Bakery Lane spreading on social media.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works said that the Government was aware of flooding issues on some roads and would continue to work to address it.

“The Department of Works and Engineering swiftly addressed flooding issues in multiple areas in response to the heavy rainfall,“ he said.

“Our teams are aware of drainage issues at Lighthouse Road, Middle Road in Southampton near the Southampton Princess entrance, and on Harrington Sound Road near the Broken Hill Road junction.

“We are also working to assist with drainage solutions at the Mullet Bay and Stokes Point Road junction.”

The Bermuda Weather Service said sensors had recorded strong winds with gale-force gusts across the island.

Winds at LF Wade International Airport’s airfield reached 33mph, with gusts of more than 50mph, while the National Museum of Bermuda recorded winds of 56mph, with a peak gust of 64mph.

Meanwhile, it was estimated that between 128mm and 157mm of rain fell on the island in the 24-hour period ending at 9am.

A BWS spokeswoman said: “We did get more after 9am, so the figures will be higher.

“For instance, at the airport the official ‘rain event’ total was 156.4mm, or 6.16 inches, which spans over a climatological day, so in the daily figures [that number] will be separated into two daily figures.

“The deluge occurred while the elongated low-pressure area aligned the trough over us. It dragged a large portion of the warm front, as well as the newly formed occluded front overhead.

“Normally in our geographical area, the axis of the trough is situated in a more northeast through southwest orientation. However, when it is more horizontal, as it was last night and this morning, the heaviest rainfall tracks over us, resulting in a deluge.”

The spokeswoman added that this morning’s high tide occurred in the midst of the rush-hour commute period, along with the heaviest period of rainfall.

She added that the island was “headed for a record-breaking rainfall year” with more than 2½ months remaining on the calendar.

As of Thursday, the island had recorded 54.15in of rainfall, almost 10in more than the average year-to-date figure of 44.63in.

The spokeswoman also noted that the BWS forecast a gale warning more than 24 hours before the onset of the winds and had forecast a “wet and windy” day five days in advance. A small-craft warning is expected for Sunday.

A staff member at Red Laser, on Bakery Lane, said that the flooding in the area made it more difficult for customers to access the business, but the waters began to recede after the rainfall died down.

“We have been doing a lot of online orders and phone orders,” he said. “We have been dealing with this for so long. It’s nothing new to us.”

• How were you affected? Did you take any pictures or videos? If you did, please send them to news@royalgazette.com