Bermuda faced off against three unusually late storms in October as the active hurricane season came to a close.

Hurricane Humberto and Hurricane Imelda, both Category 2 storms, affected the island at the start of the month within 12 hours of each other.

Hurricane Melissa bookended October when it hit Bermuda as a shadow of the storm that decimated the Caribbean

Humberto skirted around the coast of Bermuda at about noon, pushing over heavy winds and some rain, while Imelda directly hit the island in the middle of the night.

Michelle Pitcher, of the Bermuda Weather Service, suggested the day of storms was brought on by the Fujiwhara effect, a phenomenon when two low-pressure weather systems attract each other.

Damage from Imelda was minimal, with the worst impact being a wall from the old Hamiltonian Hotel and Beach Club on Langton Hill, Pembroke, collapsing on a car.

More than 18,000 customers were without power after the storm and Belco crews worked until the end of the week to fully restore power.

Opportunistic thieves targeted three stores during the stormy weather, with The Gem Cellar and Crisson’s Jewellery Store, both in Hamilton, and the Shelly Bay MarketPlace in Hamilton Parish being burgled under the cover of the storms.

Later in the month, Hurricane Melissa became a powerful Category 5 storm that ripped through the Caribbean, with Jamaica witnessing the worst damage it had seen in years.

The tragedy inspired Bermudians to partner with local Jamaicans to send as much aid as possible.

Melissa reached 130 miles northwest of Bermuda in the early hours of Hallowe’en as a dwindling Category 2.

Nearly 20,000 properties had lost power overnight, while children attempted to make the most of a reduced Hallowe’en celebration.

Ja’Dore Wilson was found alive and well after a month-long manhunt across the island.

Police started October with a warning that the 15-year-old, who had last been seen on the morning of September 17, may have left voluntarily and might be assisted by another.

Search parties combed through the Friswells Hill and St Augustine Road areas of Pembroke — both locales she was known to frequent.

Officers deployed drones to look for the child and, by October 16, the community organised search parties that went door-to-door.

Crime Stoppers Bermuda offered a $20,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that would locate the missing teen.

By mid-October, the girl’s mother, Di’Shunta Clarke, called on the Governor of Bermuda to bring in a search dog from Britain to assist.

She said: “I should not have to stand up here and beg for more resources. I shouldn’t have to beg for trained personnel to intervene.

“I have to hit up the Governor. I have to hit up these politicians and the ministers for help, for aid, to take this matter seriously. It’s ridiculous.”

Ja’Dore was eventually located alive and well when police were called to a Pembroke residence on October 18.

The Duchess of Gloucester visited Bermuda to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Royal Bermuda Regiment.

Birgitte, who serves as the RBR’s Colonel-in-Chief, arrived on the evening of October 16 for what was her fourth official visit to the island.

She toured Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, for which she is a patron, and visited the Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

She attended the Trooping of the Colour ceremony on October 18 at the Keep in Dockyard, where soldiers were given service medals.

She went on to tour the National Museum of Bermuda and Warwick Camp, before visiting the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, as well as Trunk Island.

She ended her visit with a tree-planting ceremony at Government House on October 20 and was treated to a performance by the H&H Gombey Troupe.

A peace deal between Israel and Hamas on October 13 froze a brutal conflict spanning more than two years — and had plenty in Bermuda and around the world cautiously hopeful.

The conflict started on October 7, 2023, after a Hamas-led insurgency killed almost 1,200 people in south-east Israel and took 250 civilians as hostages.

Israel’s military response claimed 70,000 lives, many of whom were women and children, and critics accused the state’s approach of being a genocide against the Palestinian people.

The Jewish Community of Bermuda responded with “relief, joy and cautious optimism”, adding: “A new dawn is possible for the Middle East. We hope and pray that this will be the end of the war and that there will be a lasting peace.”

Dennis Lister, the Speaker of the House, who had criticised Israel’s conduct during the war in his personal and professional capacities, celebrated the ceasefire.

He added: “We have to stand grounded to ensure that Palestine is restored as an independent state. The two-state solution is the only way this will bring a lasting peace.”

Brijette Basden, a Bermudian star runner and kindergarten teacher, was killed in a collision on the verge of a highway on October 19 in Durham, North Carolina. She was 24 years old.

Her sister, Asrael Basden, was left injured in the incident.