A Slate Came Through the Ceiling: Hurricane Nicole Punches a Hole in a Historic Bermuda Church

• Hurricane Nicole tore a hole in the rear roof of Bethel Church’s old sanctuary
• A piece of slate broke through the interior ceiling
• The Royal Bermuda Regiment was to cover the damage with tarpaulin
• Repairs were expected to take about two weeks, compared with a month after 2014’s storms

Hurricane Nicole left a hole in the roof of Bethel Church on North Shore Road in Bermuda, the Royal Gazette reported on October 15, 2016. The damage was to the rear section of the roof over the historic original sanctuary, where a piece of slate broke through into the interior ceiling.

Reverend Ruth Smith said the damage could have been worse. “This is the old original sanctuary that is — all old roof up there,” she said, adding that she “was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t more damage on the inside.”

The Royal Bermuda Regiment planned to put tarpaulin over the damaged area. Repairs were expected to take about two weeks, far less than the month-long restoration the church needed after Hurricanes Fay and Gonzalo hit Bermuda in 2014. Services were to go ahead as normal that Sunday at 8am and 11am.

The episode shows the particular risk facing congregations in old buildings: original roofs, often slate or other traditional materials, are costly to maintain and vulnerable in every storm. Bethel was hit in 2014 and again in 2016, a pattern that makes regular roof inspections, insurance cover and a repair fund essential rather than optional.

Jamaica’s historic churches face the same threat, as Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa showed when they stripped roofs from sanctuaries across the island. The Bermuda example makes the case for treating roof maintenance as ongoing stewardship: checking old roofs before each season, having emergency covering arranged in advance and keeping enough money aside to repair quickly so worship can continue. Diaspora members who support home churches can help most by funding that preventive work before the next storm.

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