VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach has a lot of neighborly love as people are getting through day two of tornado cleanup.
The City of Virginia Beach has two groups of volunteers, one of which is the Community Emergency Response team, a group of volunteers that are ready to go at a moment’s notice. They go through an eight-week course to join the team.
Monday, Myron Nahra with Virginia Beach Community Emergency Response Team said volunteers helped direct traffic. Tuesday, they went door to door.
“We gave out flyers to citizens of the houses that were the most badly damaged,” Nahra said. “One of them was an information sheet that the city communications has posted online, but not everyone can go online right now.”
He said the flyers didn’t stay in their hands long.
“We had 150 flyers and we ran out,” Nahra said. “Saw a lot of, a lot of destruction out there. It is very sad. But, I tell you, most of those citizens out there are upbeat.”
A long list of potential volunteers is also piling up through VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads.
“In the first day we had over 100 sign up and we also have received quite a few emails from churches or organizations who are just wanting to help out their neighbors,” said Stephanie Gorham, the CEO of VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads.
Gorham said anyone can sign up, and they’ll alert those people when city leaders say they need help.
“Anyone interested just goes to our site, volunteerhr.org,” Gorham said. “They create a profile, it’s easy. If they have any specific skill sets that they would like for us to know about for disaster response, we have a page in the profile for them to complete."
But for now, people are asked to stay away from the tornado’s path of destruction.
“These crews are working hard and the city is working hard to try and get as much clear so we can get vehicles through so they can start working on their houses,” Nahra said.
VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads organizers said the sign-up link will stay on their website for as long as the city needs it.
Right now, there isn’t a place to take donations. Virginia Beach City leaders are asking people to call 311 if they want to donate something. The operators will make notes and call upon those people if the resources are needed.
Private businesses who would like to donate food to City staff assisting with recovery efforts should contact the Office of Volunteer Resources, at 757-385-4722, volunteer@vbgov.com.