Virginia Beach is reeling from a tornado that ripped through the coastal town on Sunday night, destroying as many as 100 homes.
Firemen and clearing crews were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and huge parts of people’s houses, including entire roofs.
Powerline workers were also present, clearing roads of fallen pylons and tending to damaged transmission lines to restore power to hundreds of homes.
Virginia Natural Gas was also attending homes with gas leaks and Dominion Power, the local energy company headquartered in Richmond, was responding with crews.
The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city just before 6pm on Sunday and was so severe the city declared a local state of emergency.
City officials said that as many as 100 homes had been destroyed in the tornado. Pictured is an aerial image of houses in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach
Firemen and clearing crews were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and huge parts of people’s housesFiremen and clearing crews were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and huge parts of people’s houses
The National Weather Service announced on Monday morning that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado, meaning it carried winds of between 136 and 165 mph.
The highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale is an EF-5.
Fort Story, which is operated by the US Navy, reported tornado damage and said it was assessing the aftermath.
The base said 95 percent of its power has been restored.
‘We are fortunate that there were no injuries due to the storm,’ Capt. Michael Witherspoon told the Virginian-Pilot, 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 tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city just before 6pm on Sunday and was so severe the city declared a local state of emergency
Due to road closures three Virginia Beach schools – Cox High School, Great Neck Middle School and John B. Dey Elementary School – did not open on Monday
The Virginia Beach Fire Department was responding to ‘calls for major storm damage to multiple homes’, it said on Twitter
A tree snapped in half by Sunday’s tornado is seen slotted into the roof of a residential property
Multiple trees are seen collapsed on the lawn of a house in Virginia Beach
The tornado prompted the closure of three schools on Monday due to road closures, officials said.
‘Great Neck Recreation Center, 2521 Shorehaven Drive, will be closed to the general public tomorrow, May 1, and will continue to serve exclusively to residents impacted by the storm,’ wrote the city via an update on its website.
It also said residents who have trees entirely on their property would have to deal with them themselves.
‘Public Works recommends that residents speak with their insurance regarding coverage and deductibles before securing quotes or contracting with private tree removal companies,’ wrote the city.
‘If residents use a private tree removal service, the contractor secured is responsible for the removal of the debris as well,’ it added.
Residents were told by city officials that any trees that had fallen and were entirely on their property would be their responsibility to deal with
The National Weather Service announced on Monday morning that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado
More than 14,000 homes had lost power during the day, according to an online energy outage map, but that was down to just 400 on Monday morning.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department was responding to ‘calls for major storm damage to multiple homes’, it said on Twitter.
On Sunday night several boats were said to have broken off their moorings, overturned and damaged, a spokesperson for the city said.
It clarified that it was working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Port of Virginia Maritime Incident Response team to recover the boats.
Cox High School, Great Neck Middle School and John B. Dey Elementary School were the three schools closed on Monday.
The third day of the Something in the Water festival, which had been planned for Sunday evening, was canceled due to the tornado.
