More than 100 homes were damaged by the April 30 tornado that touched down in Virginia Beach, and much of the debris ended up on the beaches of First Landing State Park.
On May 21, about 70 volunteers spent the day collecting more than 12,000 pounds of various housing materials.
Some of the items included a portion of a wooden dock, refrigerator, shingles, patio furniture, cushions, a jon boat, a hot tub, and fencing, according to First Landing Volunteer Coordinator Tanya Wisoker, who organized the cleanup.
“There were so many shingles, we could have built a couple houses,” said volunteer Diane Haupt, who runs several times a week on the park’s trails.
Volunteers said they were emotionally moved by the holiday ornaments and stuffed animals that washed up on the beaches.
Wisoker started planning for the event about a week after the storm. Her checklist included coordinating with the city, marking off the area for the work to be done, assigning a group of the park’s volunteers to staff a table, and confirming details with private boat owners.
“We really didn’t have a means to collect the debris, so the volunteers deserve all the credit,” Wisoker said. “People keep telling me how good the beaches look now. That’s thanks to all our amazing volunteers.”
Five private boats assisted in the cleanup. Volunteers began working shortly after 7 a.m. on the cool, cloudy day. Some walked along the beach or waded out into the water, putting smaller pieces into garbage bags and collecting large items into piles to be hauled away by boat. Others worked unloading debris as boats came ashore at the Narrows at 64th Street.
By noon, six tons of debris had been unloaded, stretching across the parking lot and enough to fill three Public Works dump trucks.
A number of businesses provided snacks, transportation, T-shirts and music.
The worst storm damage was in the Chelsea neighborhood, across Broad Bay from First Landing. A gaping hole in the tree canopy on Long Creek Trail marks the spot where the tornado made landfall in the park.
For debris in the water, it was a short distance to the park’s western and southern facing beaches. But not everything washed ashore. The 145 mph winds dropped shingles and housing materials onto Cape Henry and Osmanthus trails, in the interior of the park.
“The cleanup was so well organized,” Haupt said. “I helped because it just wasn’t safe with all the wood and nails on the beach. But mostly I did it because I love the park.”
Eric Hodies, [email protected]
