VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Several agencies had to quickly pivot from the Something in the Water festival at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront to the Great Neck area when Sunday's EF-3 tornado touched down.
That included the Virginia Beach Fire Department.
Assistant Fire Chief Jack Crandall told News 3's Leondra Head he's never seen destruction like this.
"Coming out here, it’s almost surreal to see this type of thing. We’ve seen storms before and damage from tornadoes. But nothing like this. It’s just amazing no one was hurt," Crandall said. "I still can’t wrap my head around it because I’ve worked here a long time and never seen anything this devastating."
Crandall gave News 3 a ride around the neighborhood to get his perspective of the damage.
An RV still turned over in one neighbor's yard; trees and piles of debris still sit on the side of the road, and a pickup truck crushed.
Battalion Chief Tom Stone also showed News 3 around.
"As you can see, this is one of the worst ones hit on this side. The siding is ripped completely off, at least half the roof and windows are gone. Roofs ripped off. Walls knocked down," he said. "Extensive amount of damage. The wall collapsed. It appears it probably was a chimney there that collapsed in the wind."
Stone said not only were they searching structures for occupants, they were also trying to stop active gas leaks.
Crandall says around 16 houses are condemned.
He and his crews went into each home to ensure everyone was safe.
"Even after our units got here, they had trouble accessing the area because of down trees," he said. "So it took us about 30 minutes to just realize the magnitude of what had happened."
