Bermuda's resiliency to hurricanes dates back 300 years

Despite more than 100 tropical storms passing close to Bermuda, a decision made 300 years ago has made the islands unusually resilient to hurricanes.

Bermuda is in the path of Hurricane Ernesto, and residents are bracing for impact late this week into the weekend. The territory seems to dodge disaster from hurricanes often despite the archipelago of 181 islands sitting like a target in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The biggest reason for its resiliency dates back more than 300 years.

On Sept. 13, 1712, Capt. Benjamin Bennett, Governor of Bermuda, wrote, "On the 8th, about two in the afternoon began the most severest hurricane that has been known here, and continued til ten at night. A great many houses were quite blown down, none escaping without being much shattered, very many trees torn up by the roots, and several of the largest cedars that were most fast in the ground twisted off in the middle by whirl-winds."

"To our great amazement," Bennett continued, "Five sloops, being all that were, in the Town harbor were driven onshore, with most [structures] that were a building, throughout the country, blown off the stocks, a woman and child killed by the fall of a house, and one old woman blown off from an island where she lived into the sea and drowned. It was feared before inquiry made, that much more mischief had been made to people's lives."

The losses from the September 1712 hurricane, which also destroyed most churches on the British territory, led to government legislation forcing the construction of walls and roofs from limestone instead of wood. This is credited for the low number of deaths from tropical storms on Bermuda—not counting shipwrecks—which is less than 20 since 1947.

Other reasons for Bermuda's resiliency

Storm surge, the leading cause of death during tropical storms in the United States, is not typically as much of an issue for Bermuda compared to other islands or coastal areas because the archipelago is a single peak rising from the deep ocean. Also important are the steep rise in elevation and protection provided by its u-shaped southern coast, where hurricanes usually push in their worst surge. Coral reefs at the shore also help reduce damage from storm surge.

Bermuda's hurricane history and season

The archipelago is small, with a land area about half the size of Miami, so it's difficult for the eye of a hurricane to make landfall on the islands. Since 1850, 130 tropical storms have come within 100 miles of the archipelago, but only 11 have made landfall. In September 2014, Hurricanes Fay and Gonzalo made landfall in Bermuda, the first time since 1850 that two storms had done so in the same season.

Bermuda is most likely to be affected by tropical storms when the Bermuda High, a persistent summer season high pressure system, is strong and sags westward during the peak of hurricane season, from September to October. Earlier in the season, the Bermuda High can cause storms to be deflected away.

Although resilient, Bermuda has been damaged by major hurricanes. Hurricane Fabian in 2003 is the most recent example. A Category 3 storm as it passed over the island, Fabian did $300 million (2003 USD) in damage. A storm surge of 11 feet damaged buildings on the coast. The winds, which gusted to 164 miles per hour, wiped out most vegetation. Four people were killed, the first deaths there from a tropical storm since 1947.

More recently, Category 4 Hurricane Fiona passed 115 miles to the northwest of Bermuda on September 23, 2022. Winds gusted to 110 mph at the Maritime Operations Center. Nearly 30,000 lost power but structural damage was minor.