Tornadoes in Virginia and Florida, flooding in other states

Severe Weather A man carries a piece of furniture through a neighborhood in Virginia Beach, Va. on Monday May 1, 2023. The City of Virginia Beach declared a state of emergency after a tornado moved through the area and damaged dozens of homes, downed trees and caused gas leaks. (AP Photo/Ben Finley)
Severe Weather Crews clean up in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday May 1, 2023 the day after a tornado struck the city. (AP Photo/Ben Finley)
Virginia Severe Weather Ginny Sutton, 66, assesses damage done to her house on Duke of York Quay in Virginia Beach, Va., after a late afternoon storm moved through on Sunday, April 30, 2023. Two cars were destroyed in her driveway also. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Severe Weather Firefighters work the scene in a Virginia Beach neighborhood off Great Neck road after a late afternoon storm moved through damaging homes on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Severe Weather A house sits surrounded by felled trees as a result of a late afternoon storm that brought severe damage to the Great Neck section of Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Severe Weather A vehicle is crushed by a fallen tree on N Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday, April 30, 2023 as a result of a strong storm that ripped through the area. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Severe Weather A firefighter walks through debris from a strong storm that ripped through the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Severe Weather A firefighter checks on a home damaged by a storm that rolled through the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Severe Weather A two story brick home is left with no roof on Haversham Close in Virginia Beach, Va., after a late afternoon storm moved through on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Virginia Begins Recovery From Hurricane Irene VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - AUGUST 28: A palm frond is blown along the beach as the sun begins to rise over the Atlantic Ocean a day after facing Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011 in Virginia Beach, VA. The hurricane made landfall in North Carolina and Virginia early Saturday morning and has now moved further up the east coast to New Jersey and is on course to hit New York later today. The storm has claimed the lives of eight people so far. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
Virginia Severe Weather A toppled tree lies in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach, Va., on Monday May 1, 2023. The City of Virginia Beach declared a state of emergency after a tornado moved through the area Sunday and damaged dozens of homes, downed trees and caused gas leaks. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)
Severe Weather A man photographs a home damaged by a tornado in Virginia Beach, Va., on Monday May 1, 2023. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A rare and powerful tornado sent residents of a coastal city in Virginia fleeing for cover over the weekend as it peeled roofs from buildings and pushed homes from their foundations.

It was the most powerful tornado ever to hit Virginia Beach, Virginia, officials confirmed Monday. No one was reported injured, despite few residents being prepared for tornadoes. Several people described taking cover under stairwells; most lack basements because the water table is so high.

Wreckage from destructive weather dotted the U.S. Monday as officials took stock of unrelated tornadoes and flooding damage from over the weekend, stretching from Florida to Maine.

In Virginia Beach, residents credited a cellphone warning system for helping them take shelter in time. One family escaped injuries by reacting to a weather alert that came less than a minute before the tornado hit.

“It just happened suddenly,” Lori Camper said. “The whole thing lasted 10 seconds.”

She and her visiting daughter looked out the window and saw the trees bending in the wind and ran. The family, including Camper’s grandchildren, aged 2 years and 5 weeks, as well as two dogs, ran into a stairwell — the only place without windows.

“Then all the windows blew out in the kitchen and sucked everything out of the kitchen and a tree fell through the roof,” Camper said. “And now one side of the house is leaning.”

She hadn’t experienced a tornado that strong in the 19 years she had lived there.

“I’m grateful,” she said. “God took care of us.”

No injuries were reported.

Elsewhere, officials were assessing damage Monday in West Virginia, Maine, Florida and California. The National Weather Service confirmed a Saturday tornado in Florida. And high water on the Mississippi River is testing flood defenses in Iowa and Illinois as the river crests in the area Monday.

West Virginia’s eastern mountains could see up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow Tuesday morning as a rare May winter storm moves through, forecasters said. The snow won’t help the area’s ski resorts, which had already closed for the season.

In California, a late-season weather system brought showers and the possibility of high-elevation snow in the Sierra Nevada through the week. Fears of flooding shut down of parts of Yosemite Valley over the weekend. But the National Park Service said the Merced River did not rise as much as expected and the valley reopened on Monday.

In Maine, heavy rain and powerful wind gusts knocked out power for more than 50,000 homes and businesses on Monday morning. Wind gusts of up to 70 mph (115 kph) were reported Sunday near Matinicus Island, about 20 miles offshore, and up to 65 mph (100 kph) onshore in Bath, where Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works has numerous cranes. Rainfall approaching 5 inches (13 centimeters) also led to flood warnings on several rivers in parts of southern Maine.

The Virginia Beach tornado damaged at least 100 buildings, tearing through them with wind speeds as high as 150 mph (240 kph), officials assessing the wreckage and weather data said Monday. The National Weather Service’s Wakefield, Virginia, office confirmed Monday morning that the tornado was rated at EF-3, with wind estimates of 140 mph (225 kph) to 150 mph (240 kph). It’s the first tornado to be rated that high, according to NOAA records, with wind gusts exceeding those of the largest hurricanes recorded around the city.

A.T. Price, 73, was at his stove making tacos Sunday when his phone started to buzz with severe weather alerts. At first, he pooh-poohed it.

“But it kept buzzing and buzzing. I checked it again and it says, ’Immediate danger. Tornado down,’” Price said. He dove into the closet below his first-floor stairwell, crouching into a fetal position under his winter coats.

“I heard the freight-train sound, and it sounded like it was going right over the house,” Price said. “I would tell people to heed those alerts.”

Virginia Beach Director of Emergency Management David Topczynski said Monday that the city got lucky because the storm blew in Sunday during a music festival, where an emergency operation center was already set up, allowing for a swift response.

The tornado caused an estimated $15 million in residential damage, with nine homes destroyed, the city said in a Monday afternoon news release. Another 36 homes sustained major damage that made them unlivable, while “many more” had significant damage, the city said.

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This story has been corrected to show that at least 100 buildings in Virginia Beach were reported to be damaged, not destroyed.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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