SUFFOLK-A National Weather Service official confirmed Tuesday what many

Suffolk residents already knew: The tornado that swept through the city Monday was the biggest Suffolk has ever seen.

&uot;As far as I know, this was the strongest tornado to ever hit Suffolk,&uot; said Bill Sammler, of the National Weather Service.

The twister measured a &uot;strong EF3&uot; on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which rates tornado intensity on a scale of 0-5. It touched down south of where Route 460 reaches the Route 58 Bypass and generated 160 mph winds as it cut a 10-mile path to Driver, Sammler said.

A tornado with winds over 165 mph goes into the EF4 category. More information, including high resolution images of the destruction, will be used to make a final determination on the wind speed and storm rating.

NWS had two meteorologists on the ground and one in the air surveying the

damage the tornado left in its wake. Sammler said he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary for a storm of that magnitude, but &uot;there are a lot of things that made my say ‘oh my gosh’ because this is the strongest tornado I’ve surveyed.&uot;

Sammler noted it also is the strongest twister to hit Virginia since the one that devastated Petersburg and Colonial Heights in 1993.

The evidence of the tornado’s wrath was evident in the hardest hit areas. Boards, siding, bricks, shingles, bits of insulation and more coated parts of Hillpoint Farms, a development off Godwin Boulevard near the Nansemond Golf Course.

Small red condemned signs dotted homes in Hillpoint Farms and Burnett’s Mill, the other downtown neighborhood hit by the storm.

By the end of the day Tuesday, city officials reported that building inspectors had assessed 342 properties with an estimated $20.1 million sustained in damages.

Tuesday afternoon, many of the Hillpoint Farms residents stood outside a police barricade, waiting since the early morning to get inside to find what was left of their homes.

&uot;We just want to be able to get in and get our stuff,&uot; said Gail Orland.

Gov. Tim Kaine and many state and local officials spent the day traveling from one devastated site to another. He stopped in Hillpoint first, talking to a few residents who were surveying the damage for the first time.

Henson, one of the first people to move into Hillpoint Farms when the development was being built seven years ago, gave the governor a tour of what was left of his home on Ruger Court. He, his wife and their children, ages 6 and 9, were home when the tornado hit.

&uot;It sounded like a train,&uot; he said.

The family took cover is a small half bath on the second floor. Walls and windows of rooms next to and below that bathroom were blasted away by the twister’s strong winds, but amazingly, the family was unharmed.

Henson said his only thoughts were of keeping his family safe and remaining calm.

&uot;They needed someone to show them everything was going to be OK.&uot;

Henson, who had insurance, said they would rebuild. Until then, they are staying with family members nearby.

Kaine and other legislators, including Congressman Randy Forbes, Congresswoman Thelma Drake, Delegate Chris Jones, Sen. Fred Quayle and many other state and city leaders traipsed through a number of yards, all marveling at the extent of the damage. All marveling, too, that no one was hurt or killed.

&uot;It’s like a nightmare,&uot; said Mayor Linda Johnson. &uot;But it’s absolutely amazing that we have all our citizens.&uot;

To Kaine, it was more than amazing, it was miraculous.

&uot;God had his hand in this situation,&uot; he said.

In the middle of the tour, the governor held a press conference at the foot of some of the worst destruction in the city: the newly built Freedom Plaza on Burnett’s Way. Flipped cars in the parking lot, or hanging from the remains of the roof of the plaza, which was nothing but shreds of insulation and metal framing, acted as a backdrop as reporters gathered for Kaine’s speech.

Kaine praised Suffolk officials for responding quickly and efficiently to the disaster. Kaine said he called the mayor around 7 p.m. Monday, and the shelter at King’s Fork High School was already open at that point.

&uot;That the shelter was up and running as quickly as it was is evidence the city had its act together and responded very well,&uot; said Kaine.

About 170 people were injured in Suffolk, officials said. About 70 people were treated at Sentara Obici Hospital, which was spared from the direct path of the tornado as it flattened homes and tossed vehicles less than a third of a mile away. Only three people were kept overnight because of tornado-related injuries, and none of the three injuries was considered life threatening.

Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Outlaw, too, was pleased with the response to the disaster. He said the fact that there were no other injuries after the initial storm spoke volumes about the various agencies’ efforts.

Outlaw couldn’t rule out the possibility of more injuries or even fatalities until officials complete more of the search efforts, but so far they have not received any reports of missing people &uot;and that’s a great sign,&uot; he said.

Chris Jones, House of Delegates representative for most of Suffolk, said &uot;I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen a site like this.&uot;

Jones mentioned the police and emergency personnel who were first responders, as well as individuals in the neighborhoods who have done what they could to help neighbors.

&uot;We’re thankful we have the people here that we do,&uot; said Jones.

As city workers continue to assess damaged homes throughout the city, the number damaged – as well as the cost – likely will climb.

Kaine said in the coming days the state’s Department of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will make an assessment of the damage in Suffolk. Once the report is in, he likely will request federal funding to help with the disaster areas.

&uot;If there’s any way, by any stretch of the imagination, we could apply for federal relief, then we’ll try.&uot;

City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn, who has been on the job for only a few months now, was running on only 45 minutes of sleep yesterday afternoon, but she traveled with Kaine on the tour observing, but not saying, much. She knew, no matter what happens with the funding, Tuesday was only the beginning of the recovery process.

&uot;The real work really begins for us now.&uot;