Devastation!

On Monday, April 28th, an F3 tornado swept through neighboring Suffolk, Virginia. The tornado, which measured a quarter-mile at its widest, reduced homes to piles of sticks and bricks and tossed cars into buildings. It cut a path of destruction 10 miles long and packed winds at over 160 mph.

The storm damaged over 1,200 homes, 145 of which were later condemned as uninhabitable. Dozens of families have been displace. Damages are in excess of $20 million. Miraculously, there were no fatalities.

The village of Driver in northern Suffolk was hardest hit. Sentara Obici Hospital treated 70 patients, and no one had life-threatening injuries. During the past week local churches, military personnel, the American Red Cross and local relief agencies have tirelessly tried to meet the physical and emotional needs of those who've suffered loss.

We've heard many remarkable stories and tales of survival. In several cases, people were inside when their homes were swept away, but they walked away with scrapes, bruises and maybe a few broken bones.

In the days that followed residents were given escorted, limited entries into their homes for 30 minutes to assess the damage and retrieve whatever personal items they could carry. Four families in our church live in Suffolk, but none suffered any damage from the storm.