Trees were ripped from the ground, their roots pulling up slabs of the concrete sidewalks in front of some homes. Windows were completely blown out. Several cars had been completely crushed by fallen debris and limbs, and yard decorations were scattered.
In front of one home Monday morning in Virginia Beach’s Great Neck area, where an EF-3 tornado touched down the night before and ripped neighborhoods apart, a trio of teenage girls sat on a stoop surrounded by debris. At another, a couple assessed the damage at their house while their young son kicked at fallen branches. A woman stood teary eyed in front of her residence as workers cleared her and her neighbors’ yards.
Tara Frey, who lives in the neighborhood, told The Virginian-Pilot she was washing lettuce from her garden last night when she heard the tornado alert, which prompted her family to hunker in place with their two dogs.
“I could literally feel the pressure drop in the house and I looked out the back and the wind picked up and the rain started and I just knew it in my gut that it was coming,” she said, adding that it lasted about 10-15 seconds.
Frey said she saw her neighbor’s boat fly by her window before it landed across the street in front of her home.
Sunday’s storm prompted City Manager Patrick Duhaney to declare a local state of emergency . The city said the number of homes damaged was estimated to be between 50 and 100, with nine homes destroyed and 36 rendered uninhabitable. Initial estimates include more than $15 million in residential damage and $731,000 to public properties. No injuries have been reported.
“It is indeed a miracle,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said during a news conference at the site on Monday.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Wakefield confirmed Monday morning that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado, which carries winds between 136 and 165 mph. The highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale is an EF-5.
The EF-3 tornado is the first of that magnitude on record in Virginia Beach, according National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist Eric Seymour. Two EF-2 cyclones have been observed, Seymour said, with the last in 2017.
The weather service said the tornado was 400 yards wide, with a 4.5-mile path from from the eastern Branch of the Lynnhaven River through Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story. The cyclone began and ended as an EF-1 and peaked as an EF-3 with 145 mph wind.
Fifteen years ago — nearly to the day — an EF-3 twister struck the Hillpoint Farms area of Suffolk, destroying dozens of homes and businesses and injuring at least 200 people. No deaths were reported in that disaster.
After Monday’s news conference, Virginia Beach Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson walked around the devastation in Broad Bay Point Greens, where crews had begun to clean up fallen trees.
Wilson saw “big, tall brick houses totally lifted off their foundations,” she said.
The vice mayor talked with residents on Haversham Close whose homes sustained damage. One couple told Wilson they were upstairs in their house when they heard the tornado coming. They ran to a half-bathroom without any windows on the first floor, and the husband laid on top of his wife to protect her, Wilson said. She took photographs of the inside of their house.
“The whole roof was taken off,” Wilson said. “Debris covered the floor; the windows were blown out.”
The tornado ripped the residents’ garage door off, but their car parked inside the garage remained intact, she said.
“It’s unbelievable nobody got hurt,” Wilson said.
Linemen and clearing crews made their way to Haversham Close and the surrounding neighborhoods Monday morning to begin relief efforts.
A large stretch of North Great Neck Road was closed to traffic, from about Shorehaven Drive to Adam Keeling Road. Neighborhood roads remain closed for clean-up operations, the city said.
Fort Story also reported tornado damage and is assessing the aftermath. The base said 95% of power to Fort Story has been restored, and only mission-essential personnel are ordered to report.
“We are fortunate that there were no injuries due to the storm,” said Capt. Michael Witherspoon, the installation’s commanding officer. “Our teams are working with our local partners to assess the situation and return to normal operations as quickly as possible.”
The Great Neck Recreation Center served as a shelter for residents effected by the storm, and city communications coordinator Bryan Clark said that about half a dozen community members stopped by for services. Nobody stayed the night, opting for hotels, but the center will remain open for resources such as hot showers, cellphone charging and counseling. The counselors are planning to be at the center until at least 5 p.m., but may extend their hours if there is a need for their services.
“The residents of Virginia Beach have once again shown their overwhelming compassion for their neighbors in a time of crisis,” the city said in a Facebook post. “City officials are appreciative of the generous offers of assistance from residents and businesses. We are currently organizing and establishing channels where those who wish to donate can do so.”
The National Weather Service confirmed seeing a debris signature for a tornado on its radars, which means meteorologists could see debris caused by the storm. Residents said the 2200 block of Haversham Close saw some of the worst damage, with some roofs partially removed and windows shattered. Dozens of firefighters worked Sunday night to cut down trees, and some stood atop roofs to assess damage.
“The fire department, police department and EMS with our public works provides what we call a windshield survey in the immediate aftermath, and we confirm that there are no injuries and citizens are safe and secure,” emergency management coordinator David Topczynski said. “They quickly assessed 115 structures last night doing a wide area search and rescue. I expect that number to expand slightly today as we have sunlight, and we have crews that can do a little bit more thorough search.”
Topczynski said most of the structures assessed for damage were homes.
When asked about mobile alerts for the storm, city spokesperson Tiffany Russell said the National Weather Service handles them. She added that the weather services uses a “geofenced” area near the storm to alert residents.
Virginia Beach Public Schools announced late Sunday that three schools in the Great Neck area would be closed Monday. Other closures include the Great Neck Recreation Center, which served as a shelter, and the city has suspended all bulk item pick-up for this week. According to an outage map from Dominion Energy, about 25 customers were still without power as of 4 p.m. Monday.
Cox High School served as a command center for emergency services in the area but will reopen to students and staff on Tuesday along with Great Neck Middle and John B. Dey Elementary, Virginia Beach Public Schools announced Monday night.
Designated bus stops were set up for students living in Broad Bay Estates, Broad Bay Point Greens and Chelsea Neighborhood. Students who can’t report safely will be given excused absences, the division said in message to families.
“We strongly encourage parents to escort their children to and from the bus stops and/or school, given the new stops and the potential for safety concerns in the area,” the message reads.
Several GoFundMes have been started to help support community members who have faced home damage.
Staff writer Stacy Parker contributed to this report.
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
