Virgnia Residents Inspect Twister Damage (with video and slide show)
One twister in this city outside Norfolk cut a zigzagging path 25 miles long through residential areas, obliterating some homes in sprays of splintered lumber while leaving others just a few feet away untouched.
Search teams with dogs found no sign of deaths or any additional injured victims, Suffolk City Fire Chief Mark Outlaw said.
“The only thing I can say is we were watched over and blessed,” Outlaw said.
Most home and business owners were blocked from damaged areas until officials could assess the damage. It wasn’t clear when they could return.
Brenda Williams, 43, returned Tuesday to the shopping center where she was buried beneath a collapsed ceiling in a manicure shop during the storm. She was pulled to safety by a stranger, she said.
“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.
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Slide show
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Va. tornado aftermath
Residents survey the damage after at least three tornadoes blew through the area, destroying homes and flipping cars. more photos |
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Video
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Lack of deaths 'amazing'
April 29: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine tells MSNBC's Contessa Brewer about recovery efforts. MSNBC |
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Video
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Twister damage
April 29: NBC meteorologist Jeff Ranieri reports on the widespread damage in Virginia. Today show |