Two blocks of flats had to be evacuated after sustaining structural damage, with the States reporting that some 50 people had been relocated across two hotels, understood to be the St Pierre Park and Premier Inn.
It is believed that the major source of damage was at flats at Mon Plaisir in the Green Lanes, St Peter Port. A tree fell and caused structural damage to the buildings.
The winds appeared to be at their most fierce quite early in the evening, with a top gust of 84mph recorded before 9pm.
In Alderney there were reports of winds exceeding 100mph.
Emergency services were responding to infrastructure damage, while there were many reports of falling roof tiles and other roof damage, scaffolding collapsing, windows blowing in, and fallen trees.
More than 20 trees had been reported to have fallen before 11pm and several cars had been crushed as a result.
Scaffolding and telephone lines are also down, and power cuts were reported.
Some walls have collapsed, including at Gele Road, Castel, and Rue des Varendes, and many homes suffered damage.
The petrol pumps at Vale Garage lost their roof.
The peak of the storm arrived earlier than expected at about 8.30pm and was scheduled to last longer into the early hours than previously predicted. The States said shortly before midnight that the strength of the wind appeared to be abating.
Alderney reported significant damage to properties in La Corvee area.
‘We know it will be tempting to go out and investigate if you see or hear damage to your property, but doing so at the height of the storm is potentially putting you in danger. Easier said than done when it’s your property potentially damaged, but our strong advice is please stay safe in a secure part of your home until the storm has passed,’ said a States spokesman.
‘There will be lots of work to be done in the coming days to assess and repair damage, but we don’t want people to be in need of repair too.’
The airport had already decided to close at 6pm but as weather deteriorated far fewer flights than expected were able to land, with the last to arrive in the island a Gatwick service at 12.41pm.
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