7th July 2026 Storm Recovery Update Two Weeks On
Report and photos from Administrator Philip Kendall on the 21st July 2027
Two weeks on from the hurricane force winds that wreaked destruction on Tristan, things are slowly getting back to some semblance of normality. At the Residency we have managed to dry out the reception rooms and have shampooed the carpet. The wooden shutters on the lounge windows have been replaced by Perspex to allow light back into the house. An order has been placed for replacement coffee tables, a new TV stand, windows and doors, which will all hopefully be delivered in time for the arrival of the Agulhas II in September. The longboats are yet to be removed from the front of the house, and the garden walls will have to be rebuilt. We have yet to decide whether to replace the greenhouse which is lying in a heap in the corner of the vegetable patch.
The Residency's benches may have been put back, but the longboat and its debris still remain,
as do the scars in the lawn, caused by the flying debris.
The new (temporary) view from the Residency lounge.
The longboat Britannia still lies astride the partially demolished Residency garden wall.
The Admin's destroyed greenhouse.
Elsewhere, the Albatross Bar opened for business last Friday, just 10 days after the storm. There too we have Perspex until the replacement windows arrive. We have plans to re-roof the Biosecurity Building and rebuild the Communications Department offices. The family whose home was destroyed have cleared the site and are planning to rebuild.
What remains of the Biosecurity office - The unopened bottle of beer evidently survived on Trevor's desk!
Removing the destroyed Communications Department office huts.
As time has gone by over the last couple of weeks, more damage has come to light. The Thatched Cottage had damage to its door and roof, but this has now been repaired.
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| Damage to the east end of the Post Office and Tourism Centre. |
Repairing the roof of an island family's home. Photo: Kelly Green |
| The radio repeater at Burntwood was also seriously damaged, meaning that we have limited radio communications to the west and south of the island, including on Nightingale. Encouragingly, a team visiting Nightingale Island found no damage there. |  |
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| Chief Islander Ian Lavarello watches Nicky Swain secure a spare Starlink antenna as a temporary replacement for the BFBS receiver. | Damaged radio repeater at Burntwood. Photo: Nicky Swain |
It is clear that this is going to be a long recovery, but we will get there. The FCDO, RSPB and Blue Belt have all offered assistance and we have received generous private donations too, which will all help us to rebuild better and stronger.
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| Just over half of the Adminstrator's flag remains. | Diplomatic bags drying out at the Government Building. |
Stephen Doughty MP, the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories sent the following letter of support to the island community on the 13th July.
