‘He saw the wall of the tornado’: Couple reflects on 1 year since storm rips apart home

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — April 30, 2024 marks one year since a rare tornado ripped through the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach.

GALLERY: Virginia Beach tornado damage | April 30

The tornado gained power as an EF3 tornado when it reached Haversham Close.

According to the city of Virginia Beach, 110 homes were impacted by the tornado.

• 7 destroyed

• 24 with major damage

• 30 minor damage

• 49 affected

• Estimated cost of damage is $15,716,420.

VB tornado damages estimated at nearly $16 million

Nancy and Edwin (Gonzo) Gonzalez were home during the storm.

Cleanup efforts continue 1 week after EF-3 tornado hits VB

“We heard the sound on the phone and he looked through the curtain and he saw the wall of the tornado,” Nancy Gonzalez said. “Gonzo saw the wall of the tornado.”

When the tornado hit, the couple was watching TV in their upstairs bedroom. Gonzo quickly grabbed Nancy and they ran downstairs.

“We heard the roof started ripping off,” Edwin Gonzalez said. “The garage door left us. And the sound was horrendous. Then we move. We got to the little bathroom just behind me in this little corner. We throw ourselves down on the ground.”

“He threw himself on top of me,” Nancy Gonzalez said.

Two days after the tornado, the Gonzalezes spoke to 10 On Your Side’s KaMaria Braye. “They would have found us dead but hugging each other,” Nancy Gonzalez said in the interview.

Weather officials said wind speeds blew from 140 to 150 mph.

Residents say Virginia Beach tornado has altered neighborhoods

The Gonzalezes home of five years was destroyed in a matter of 45 seconds, according to Edwin Gonzalez.

“You know, you open the door and you see everything destroyed,” he said. “You can see the sky instead of your ceiling. And the rain coming down.”

Nancy Gonzalez said she got emotional.

“I started crying,” Nancy Gonzalez said. “Yeah, I started crying. And he [Gonzo] said, ‘Nancy, we are alive.'”

Immediately after seeing the damage, Edwin Gonzalez pulled out his phone to record for insurance purposes.

“What we found is the ceiling is gone,” he said. “Roof is gone. Half of the outside of the house inside the main living room.”

Sentimental items turned to rubble.

“We lost our son three years ago, and everything I have from him, gone,” said Nancy Gonzalez in tears.

The storm ripped a part of their neighbor’s chimney and dropped it into their garage.

However, the Gonzalezes were amazed that their opened Holy Bible was untouched. The Bible had a rosary lying on top of it.

“Our Bible did not move,” Edwin Gonzalez said.

“Not one page turned,” Nancy Gonzalez said. “If that’s not God, tell me what it is.”

As the couple reflects, they look forward to the future.

Nancy gave 10 On Your Side a tour of their home while under construction. It could be move-in ready by this fall.

“I know that it’s going to be super beautiful,” she said. “You’re going to have to crowbar me out of this porch right here.”

It’s a place she wouldn’t trade for the world.

“And most important, I love my neighbors,” Nancy Gonzalez said.

The Gonzalezes serve as a testimony of overcoming obstacles. Edwin Gonzalez is a cancer survivor, and the tornado caused damage to Nancy Gonzalez’s hearing.

“Plant your seed, put them in the solid ground, and push and it will be all right,” Edwin Gonzalez said.

The couple can’t wait to turn this house into a home again.

“This home is going to be an open house when it’s done so people can see what God can do,” Nancy Gonzalez said. “And it’s going to be amazing. We are ready to come home.”

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