Residents Survey Disaster Scene

A path of destruction is evident in Suffolk, Va., Tuesday.

Residents look over damage caused by tornadoes in Suffolk, Va., Tuesday. Three tornadoes smashed houses, tossed cars and injured than 200 residents Monday.

AP photos

SUFFOLK, Va. — Weary residents and business owners, some awakening in emergency shelters, braced themselves to see what was left of their homes and livelihoods Tuesday after three tornadoes smashed houses, piled cars on each other and injured more than 200 people.
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.”
Several roads were closed Tuesday morning, and traffic was backed up leading into downtown Suffolk, a city of approximately 80,000 outside Norfolk.
Of the 200 injured, only six were listed in critical condition and six were listed as serious.
Officials listed 125 Suffolk homes and 15 buildings as uninhabitable.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared a state of emergency, which frees up resources for those areas hit hardest. Kaine planned to visit some of the most damaged areas on Tuesday.
He said he would ask President Bush for a disaster declaration.
Keith Godwin and his wife and two kids took shelter in their bathroom after he looked out a window and saw one of the funnel clouds.
The Godwins’ home is fine except for some debris, as are the rest of those on their side of the street. But houses across the street were badly damaged, including two completely wiped off their foundations and one that was tossed on top of another home.
“All that’s left is a concrete slab,” Godwin said.