Virginia Beach Tornado Damage: The city of Virginia Beach has declared a state of emergency after an EF-3 tornado on Sunday destroyed trees, damaged hundreds of homes, and caused gas lines to break.On Monday, officials reported that no one had been hurt in the collapsed buildings and that no rescue efforts were necessary. They did note that rescue efforts were performed despite the weather.
A tornado struck the area shortly after 6 o’clock that evening, and city officials estimated that between 50 and 100 residences were damaged. City manager Patrick Duhaney told reporters on Monday that “hundreds of homes” in Virginia Beach were likely damaged.Reporters quoted Duhaney as saying, “Our first responders and many other city employees have given us a lot of tremendous support.”We are lacking some information at this moment.
Hundreds of houses were likely destroyed, and we are working to learn as much as can about the extent of the damage.The Fire Department of Virginia Beach shared chilling drone footage of the damage on their Facebook page. As the organization put it, “Our thoughts go out to the Great Neck community and all those affected by last night’s storm.”We give thanks that no lives were lost. Meteorologists have classified the tornado as an EF-3, according to the National Weather Service.
The Enhanced Fujita (or EF) scale assesses tornadoes from 0 to 5, with a rating in the middle indicating a “severe” tornado with expected wind speeds between 136 and 165 miles per hour, as stated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Scientists use the EF Scale to determine how strong a tornado was based on the damage it caused. On Monday, officials and damage assessment teams were looking over the area to get a better read on the situation. A spokeswoman for emergency management said that 115 damaged buildings have been searched thus far, and that the region will remain in a state of emergency for some time.
Three local schools remained closed on Monday because of transportation “challenges” in the impacted districts. Based on debris signature on radar, damage reports, and footage of the storm, the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia, tweeted, “We can confirm that there was a tornado.”N. Great Neck Road and River Road were stated to be two of the hardest hit areas. Upper Chelsea Reach and Haversham Close are also part of this area.
