Virginia residents inspect twister damage

Insulation, wiring and twisted metal hung from the front of a mall stripped bare of its facing. At another store, the sheet metal roofing was rolled up like a sardine can lid. Some of the cars and SUVs in the parking lot were on top of others.

“It’s just a bunch of broken power poles, telephone lines and sad faces,” said Richard Allbright, who works for a tree removal service in Driver and had been out for hours trying to clear the roads.

The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes struck Suffolk, Brunswick County, about 60 miles west, and Colonial Heights, about 60 miles northwest. Meteorologist Bryan Jackson described Suffolk’s as a “major tornado.”

The Brunswick County tornado was estimated at 86 mph to 110 mph, and cut a 300-yard path, Jackson said. It struck first, at about 1 p.m., said Mike Rusnak, a weather service meteorologist in Wakefield.

The second struck Colonial Heights around 3:40 p.m., he said.

The tornado believed to have caused damage over a 25-mile path from Suffolk to Norfolk touched down repeatedly between 4:30 and 5 p.m., Rusnak said.

At least 200 were injured in Suffolk and 18 others were injured in Colonial Heights, south of Richmond, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Sentara hospital spokesman Dale Gauding said about 70 people were treated there, “lots of cuts and bruises” and arm and leg injuries. Three were admitted in fair condition.

Property damage also was reported in Brunswick County, one of several places where the weather service had issued a tornado warning. State Police Sgt. Michelle Cotten said a twister destroyed two homes. Trees and power lines were down, and some flooding was reported.

Submitted by Johnathan Benton / FirstPerson Cars pull over as a tornado passes near Highway 58 outside Suffolk, Va., on Monday.

In Driver, Va., several of Gregory Parker’s businesses and his pre-Civil War-era home were damaged.

The porch was blown off his Arthur’s General Store. At another store he owns, the tin roof was rolled up like a sardine can. The facade of his home collapsed and the windows were blown out. Inside, furniture was tossed about.

“I hate to say it sounded like a train, but that’s the truth,” Parker said.

His wife, Ellise, rode out the storm in the first-floor bathroom of another antique store. The building lost its second story.

Parker spent the night with his sister, who lives nearby.

“I don’t even think a leaf blew off at her house. That’s how tornadoes are,” he said.

'Could have been much worse'
At King’s Fork High School, about 65 people took shelter for the night. Many of them watched coverage of the storms on television as volunteers set up cots in the gymnasium.

Chris Jones, a former Suffolk mayor, said area residents stopped by the high school throughout the night to donate bottled water, toothpaste, deodorant and other needed items.

“It could have been much worse,” Jones said. “It’s been amazing the people who have come out to help tonight.”

About 5,500 Dominion Virginia Power customers remained without service Monday night, mostly in the Northern Neck.

Laura Southard, a state emergency management spokeswoman, said the damage assessment will be done Tuesday.

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