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From cnn.com

SUFFOLK, Virginia (CNN) -- Virginians faced a massive cleanup project Tuesday after at least three tornadoes damaged dozens of homes and injured more than 200 people.

"We have had some injuries. Most of them are minor, so in many ways we are blessed," Suffolk Mayor Linda Johnson said Tuesday.

At least 200 were injured Monday in Suffolk, where a twister destroyed several homes and businesses, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

About 140 homes were destroyed, damaged or deemed uninhabitable, CNN's Rob Marciano reported from Suffolk.

The storm hit the 138-bed Sentara Obici Hospital, though Spieldenner said the facility was still operational and accepting patients.

A second tornado struck Colonial Heights -- about 60 miles northwest, near Richmond -- injuring at least 18 people, he said.

A third twister damaged several homes near Lawrenceville, about 70 miles south of Richmond, said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, which confirmed all three tornadoes.

Gov. Tim Kaine declared a Virginia-wide state of emergency as hazardous weather continued through the central part of the state.

The Suffolk twister touched down just before 4 p.m. ET and plowed its way east into Norfolk, damaging scores of homes, stores and cars and downing dozens of trees and power lines, Jackson said.

Video footage from the scene showed roofs torn off homes, cars flipped over, trees snapped in two and a caved-in section of a newly constructed shopping center.

Furniture, fences and mounds of other debris were tossed in streets, parking lots and lawns.

"It sounded like someone shuffling a giant deck of cards or a herd of wild animals coming through. You could feel the house shaking and hear the wind coming in through the cracks in the windows," Jennifer Haines told The Associated Press. "It was so scary I felt like I was having a heart attack."

Weather Channel coverage



This was all just west of Virginia Beach, where I live. I'm feeling pretty lucky today.