High winds that buffeted St David’s were cited by Belco as a factor in the power outage yesterday that left hundreds in the dark at the East End.

Close to 900 homes in St George’s were affected as stormy conditions from a frontal system that was stalled over the island drove gale-force gusts over Bermuda.

Wayne Caines, the president of Belco, said the island had endured two days of “high winds and severe weather conditions that have caused pockets of outages across the island”.

He said St David’s bore the brunt, with a waterspout causing damage to “both private properties and Belco’s overhead network, leaving approximately 40 customers without power”.

“During restoration work, approximately 900 homes in the area were temporarily de-energised to protect the safety of both the public and our teams while repairs were carried out. Across the rest of the island, outages were small and restored quickly. We thank all affected customers for their patience and understanding.”

He added: “As a reminder, if you experience a power outage, we encourage all customers to unplug sensitive electronics and devices such as TVs, computers, gaming systems and appliances.

“This simple step can help protect your valuable equipment from damage.”