Three Tornadoes Hit VA
Three tornados tore through VA destroying homes and injuring more than 200 people. The first twister touched down right outside of Norfolk cutting a path that was 25 miles long through residential areas. Brenda Williams was in a manicure shop when the tornado struck. The ceiling collapsed while she was still inside and she was stuck underneath the debris until someone was able to pull her out. “I’m not lucky, I’m blessed,” said Williams, who had a 2-inch gash stitched above her left eyebrow and stitches on her right forearm. “I’m fine. I’m here. I’m in the land of the living.”
She retrieved possessions from her car, which was flipped on its roof and destroyed in the parking lot. Several roads were closed Tuesday morning, and traffic was backed up leading into downtown Suffolk, a city of approximately 80,000 outside Norfolk. City officials said rescue crews had gone through damaged areas and homes during the night and planned to keep searching for victims. “We have had no reports of anybody missing,” said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “Looking at some of that damage, if we get out of this without any fatalities we’ll be very lucky.”
Of the 200 injured, only six were listed in critical condition and six were listed as serious. Officials listed 125 Suffolk homes and 15 buildings as uninhabitable. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared a state of emergency, which frees up resources for those areas hit hardest. Kaine planned to visit some of the most damaged areas on Tuesday.
Jennifer Haines and her two young girls hid in a cubbyhole in her house in Suffolk as the tornado hit about three blocks away. “It sounded like someone shuffling a giant deck of cards or a herd of wild animals coming through. You could feel the house shaking and hear the wind coming in through the cracks in the windows,” Haines said. “It was so scary I felt like I was having a heart attack.”
Keith Godwin and his wife and two kids took shelter in their bathroom after he looked out a window and saw one of the funnel clouds. The Godwins’ home is fine except for some debris, as are the rest of those on their side of the street. But houses across the street were badly damaged, including two completely wiped off their foundations and one that was tossed on top of another home. “All that’s left is a concrete slab,” Godwin said.