Home（https://thebermudian.com/）
Store（https://www.thebermudian.com/store/）
Newsletter（https://www.thebermudian.com/newsletter/）
Subscribe（https://www.thebermudian.com/subscribe/）
Login（https://www.thebermudian.com/login）
The Hurricanes That Changed Bermuda Forever
Every hurricane leaves behind a trail of broken branches, damaged roofs and disrupted lives. But some storms leave something more enduring. They change the way a community thinks, builds and prepares for the future.
From the hurricane that brought the first English settlers to Bermuda to the modern storms that transformed our emergency planning and building practices, these are the hurricanes that changed the island forever.
By Dabney Herndon Maury
1609: The Storm That Founded Bermuda It is perhaps the most consequential hurricane in Bermuda’s history—not because of the destruction it caused here, but because without it, Bermuda may never have been founded.
In July 1609, the Sea Venture, flagship of a fleet bound for Jamestown, Virginia, encountered a ferocious hurricane in the Atlantic. After battling mountainous seas for four days, Admiral Sir George Somers deliberately steered the damaged vessel onto Bermuda’s reefs to prevent it from sinking. Miraculously, all 150 passengers and crew survived.
The castaways spent almost a year on the island before continuing their journey to Virginia, but their reports transformed Bermuda’s reputation from a feared place of shipwrecks into an island of opportunity.
1712: The Storm That Changed the Way We Build Visitors often admire Bermuda’s white limestone roofs and sturdy stone homes without realising they are the legacy of one devastating storm.
In September 1712, a powerful hurricane destroyed most of the island’s wooden churches. Another major hurricane followed just three years later, finishing off many of the structures that had survived.
The destruction convinced Bermudians that timber was simply no match for Atlantic hurricanes. Builders increasingly turned to the island’s abundant limestone, creating stronger homes with thick masonry walls, heavy stepped roofs and robust construction techniques.
More than 300 years later, those lessons still define Bermuda’s distinctive architecture.
1780: The Storm That Tested an Island Known throughout the Caribbean as the Great Hurricane of 1780, this extraordinary storm remains the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record.
When it reached Bermuda in October, it drove around 50 ships ashore, devastated St. George’s, uprooted countless trees and left the island struggling to recover. The destruction triggered widespread food shortages and was followed by a smallpox outbreak, compounding the suffering long after the winds had subsided.
The Great Hurricane demonstrated that a hurricane’s greatest legacy is often felt not during the storm itself, but in the weeks and months that follow.
1926: Bermuda’s Darkest Hurricane The devastating hurricane of October 1926 left a dark mark on Bermuda’s history.
The Category 3 storm made landfall with sustained winds exceeding 110 mph. Around 40 percent of Bermuda’s homes suffered roof damage, but it was the tragedy at sea that defined the disaster.