VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Several efforts are underway to help the people impacted by Sunday evening's EF-3 tornado, which caused a huge amount of damage to homes off North Great Neck Road.
City officials said Monday morning that many Virginia Beach residents and businesses had offered assistance to those affected by the tornado and was in the process of "establishing channels where those who wish to donate can do so."
In the meantime, the city asked that the community not go to areas where there was tornado damange to try to give folks unsolicited donations.
The city said it would put more information about how to help at emergency.vbgov.com as soon as possible.
Some people have launched GoFundMe fundraisers, so we reached out to GoFundMe to ensure they were valid. They told us their Trust & Safety team has cleared these fundraising campaigns on their platform as being valid:
- Help my grandparents from tornado damage: This was started by a woman trying to help her parents raise funds to repair their home.
- Getting a Home: This is being organized by a woman whose uncle was getting ready to move into a home that was destroyed and now needs to find another place to live.
- Virginia Beach Tornado Relief: This effort is raising funds to help anyone who needs immediate financial assistance to meet their basic needs.
Also, VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads is organizing efforts to help with cleanup and other chores associated with tornado relief. They reminded people that working in an area affected by a disaster such as a tornado is complex and can be dangerous. They posted this statement on their website:
"The City of Virginia Beach asks that volunteers do not self-deploy until they are contacted and given instructions. VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads will coordinate the necessary volunteers when and if the City requests their assistance. Please be sure that you have filled out a complete profile on VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads website so that we can properly contact you should you be needed."
We'll update this story as we learn about any additional efforts to help victims of the tornado.