In her words: Bermuda resident gives first-hand account of Hurricane Gonzalo

Saturday, October 18, 2014, 8:43 PM - Hurricane Gonzalo is slowly losing strength after battering Bermuda with winds of 175 km/h.

Trees on the island chain have been toppled, some power lines are down, and there was a storm surge of up to three metres. 

Vanessa Daniel was in Bermuda at the time and told The Weather Network what it was like to live through the ordeal.

TRACKING THE STORM: Tropical Storm Watches in effect for Newfoundland as Gonzalo approaches island

"We survived. 

The eye [of the hurricane] crossed over us around 8:30 pm and took about two hours to do so. 

Around 11:00 pm we moved -- took our futon into the hallway and closed all of our doors because the second half of the storm (after the eye) was worse. It was dangerous to be near windows even though they were boarded up. Plus the floor boards were shaking. 

Around 11:30, one of the garbage bags over the bedroom window (inside) broke free so we got up to reinforce it. 

We fell asleep around 1:30 am when winds started to lessen.

BELOW: "The second part of the storm was even worse than the first."

Woke up this morning at 7:00. Assessed damage. Checked in with family and friends. Then ventured to our offices (because we live closer than our co-workers). 

Power at Cueva's, none at mine. No damage. MANY trees down. Police blocking many roads. Lots of damage and some roofs wrecked.

Rescue helicopter overheard assessing damage from above. This is unusual because we do not have helicopters in Bermuda.

RELATED: Gonzalo batters Bermuda, Canada next

BELOW: "Roofs are completely gone"

UK ship on its way for relief. Some grocery stores and insurance companies are open for business. Free internet at some hotspots so people can communicate. 

No-one had heard from one of our older, single friends so we trekked out to check on her. We had to trade our car for a moped because some roads were impassable. As we got close, there were trees and a downed powerline blocking the road to her house, so we had to go by foot. Luckily she was fine but has part of her roof and ceiling missing. I was up on her roof to take a look. Huge crack. Her neighbour is fixing it temporarily because another storm is on the horizon. 

Cell phone service in her area is out. 

Good news is, the City of Hamilton is cleaning up nicely. People are already at restaurants and bars. Business should be back to normal by Monday." 

SEE ALSO: Following #Gonzalo on Social Media

Remarkably, no fatalities have been reported as a result of Hurricane Gonzalo.

GONZALO TRACK

The storm has weakened since lashing Bermuda and is tracking north towards southeastern Newfoundland. 

The Canadian Hurricane Centre says Gonzalo could still be hurricane strength by the time it reaches the province tonight.

There's about a 20 per cent chance of the storm making landfall on the southern Avalon Peninsula.

The Weather Network will be providing live on-the-ground coverage of the storm on TV and via live stream on mobile and web.