VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On Monday, May 1, the City of Virginia Beach held a news conference to address the tornado that tore through the city’s Great Neck area the previous night.
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VB EF-3 tornado spans over 4.5 miles in 5 minutes, damaging about 115 homes
Leaders provided details about the city's response to the tornado and the current recovery effort underway.
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Monday photos, video show aftermath of the Virginia Beach EF-3 tornado
How are residents doing?
Mayor Bobby Dyer said it's a ‘miracle’ no one was hurt when the tornado hit, especially given the wreckage the storm left behind.
“Today, Virginia Beach is blessed and thankful after a tragic weather event last night. We are indeed grateful that there was not a loss of life or anyone injured,” Mayor Dyer said.
Although no one was physically harmed, the tornado caused damage to dozens of homes. Mayor Dyer acknowledged this and sent “hearts and prayers” to the city’s residents who were negatively impacted by the storm.
Councilmember Chris Taylor also attended the conference. He spoke admirably about residents who lent a helping hand to those in need.
“Neighbors [were] helping neighbors. Golf carts [were] out, [they were] bringing the chainsaws out, just really working together to make the best of a bad situation,” Taylor said.
City's response effort
Many of the city leaders who spoke highlighted what they described as a rapid response to the tornado. Dyer commended public safety, public works and the others involved in the effort.
City Manager Patrick Duhaney said the resources that were already in place for Something in the Water contributed to the operation.
“I guess by the luck of God, because of Something in the Water, we already had an emergency operation center... and a unified command post and a joint operations center established with the full joint information center because of the Something in the Water music festival,” said Duhaney.
VBPD Chief Paul Neudigate said the extra resources allowed them to make rescue attempts. He said the rescuers who went from house to house didn't find any injured citizens, and called the lack of injuries a "testament to God."
VBFD Chief Ken Pravetz said there were people contained by brush debris, but no one was trapped underneath any structural collapses.
"We didn’t have to extricate anyone out of a rubble pile,” Chief Pravetz said.
Although the damaged structures didn't cause any citizens to get trapped or injured, the destruction did raise concerns about gas leaks.
"A lot of what we were dealing with was gas leaks. So, we were securing the gas leaks from the structures that were damaged," he said.
City's recovery effort
Regarding the severity of the storm, Duhaney said a weather team is working on evaluating how big the storm was and its impact. He added that an assessment team is currently on the ground to see what the damage is “in terms of numerical value.”
The city hasn’t determined the total number of homes impacted by the storm yet, but Director of Emergency Management Dave Topczynski did say that public safety searched 115 damaged structures on Sunday.
Additionally, the impact center at the Great Neck Recreation Center is open, according to Michael Kirschman, the city's Director of Parks and Recreation. He said those who’ve been impacted by the storm are welcome, and there are even Chick-fil-A sandwiches, donuts and coffee for people to enjoy.
“If anybody needs to get a warm shower, charge their phone, come somewhere where there’s electricity, we’re open all day,” Kirschman said.
Status of the school closures
Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence was also present to provide an update on the three schools in the city that closed following the tornado. He said there is currently no definitive date set for the students’ return.
“The biggest issue for us, obviously, is, ‘Can we get our transportation into the areas that are affected?’ I would say right now, based on what we saw, we’re gonna have some challenges with that this week,” Dr. Spence said. “We’ll work with city staff, and then our team will meet later this afternoon. We’ll make a decision and get that information out to our community certainly in enough time for them to make plans for tomorrow.”
Dr. Spence added that both staff members and families affiliated with the schools have been impacted by the tornado, and advised people in need of resources to call the city’s 311 number.
How long will roads be closed?
Chief Neudigate said the roads that are currently closed will likely remain closed for the next 24 to 48 hours. According to the city's website, Great Neck Road is closed between Cox High School and the bridge at Adam Keeling Road until further notice.
For more information from the City of Virginia Beach, click here.
We will update this article with any new developments regarding the aftermath of the tornado.
