VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – It was a terrifying night for neighbors in the Haversham Close community following the EF-3 tornado that ripped through the Great Neck area Sunday evening.

Crews are on the ground Tuesday continuing the clean up in the area. According to a tweet from the City of Virginia Beach, a single lane is open on Great Neck Rd. from Cox High School to Adam Keeling to allow debris cleanup vehicles to come through the area.

Residents are asked to avoid the area to minimize traffic impacts and the state of Great Neck Rd. is subject to change.

“I saw debris start flying sideways,” said Haversham Close resident Peter Congoden. “Heard that sound of the freight train they describe with tornado, then things really picked up.”

Congoden had an up-close-and-personal view of the storm.

“I watched my neighbors’ trees fly right on over like a house of cards,” Congoden said. “It was bad. It was scary. Glass busting, things hitting my house real hard.”

It left behind nearly $16 million of damage.

“The footage you see on TV and the newspaper doesn’t do it justice until you see it in person. Just how powerful this thing was,” he said.

Luckily, no one was injured.

“It’s a grace of God right there,” Congoden said. “That’s a total blessing. It’s a miracle no one got hurt in this. Looking at these houses, I can’t believe no one was injured.”

It’s now time to rebuild for the community.

There were already people out to Brandi Fiore’s family home to fix broken windows and patch the roof damage.

“It’s sad,” she said. “It’s going to take a long time.”

Congoden said it’s painful to see the homes in shambles, but noted insurance adjusters had already visited his home. The full repairs could take four to six months.

“It’s disheartening, but you go back to, nobody was hurt, and that is the really important thing,” he said. “All this can be fixed but it’s going to take time and resources.”