Twisters wreak havoc in Virginia

SUFFOLK, Va. – Three tornadoes ripped through Virginia on Monday, with one hopscotching across the southeastern part of the state and leaving behind a 25-mile trail of smashed homes, tossed cars and more than 200 injured residents.

The twister in this city outside Norfolk cut a fickle, zigzagging path through neighborhoods, obliterating some homes and spraying splintered wood across lawns while leaving those standing just a few feet away untouched.

Buses took residents to safety, steering clear of downed power lines, tree limbs and a confetti of debris.

Insulation, wiring and twisted metal hung from the front of a mall that was stripped bare of its facing. At another store, the tin roof was rolled up like a sardine can. Some of the cars and SUVs in the parking lot lay 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.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared a state of emergency for the areas of southeastern Virginia struck by the twisters.

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

Jackson said the Brunswick County tornado was estimated at 86 mph to 110 mph, and cut a 300-yard path of destruction.

The first tornado touched down about 1 p.m. in Brunswick County, said Mike Rusnak, a weather service meteorologist in Wakefield. The second struck Colonial Heights about 3:40 p.m., he said.

The third touched down multiple times, between 4:30 and 5 p.m., and is believed to have caused damage over a 25-mile path from Suffolk to Norfolk, 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.

In Colonial Heights, the storm overturned cars and damaged buildings in the Southpark Mall area.

Suffolk city spokeswoman Dana Woodson said the area around Sentara Obici Hospital and in the community of Driver, within the city, were hardest hit. The hospital was damaged but still able to treat patients.

Several of Gregory A. Parker’s businesses and his pre-Civil War-era home in Driver were damaged.

The porch was blown off his Arthur’s General Store. 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.