Tornado Damages Homes and Uproots Trees in Virginia Beach

A storm that passed over Virginia Beach on Sunday evening brought one confirmed tornado and caused damage to multiple homes close to the coast, the authorities said.

The tornado went through the Fort Story area in northeastern Virginia Beach just before 6 p.m., said Mike Montefusco, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Va.

The tornado’s exact path will be confirmed through a survey on Monday.

Damage was reported to at least 12 homes as of early Sunday evening, said Tiffany Russell, a spokeswoman for the city of Virginia Beach. No injuries were reported.

Emergency crews patrolled the area in a bus and picked up residents who needed transportation to a shelter, which was being set up at the Great Neck Recreation Center. Residents also reported gas leaks.

The Virginia Beach Fire Department was responding to “calls for major storm damage to multiple homes” in the Great Neck area, the department said on Twitter.

The city canceled a festival that had been planned for Sunday evening, which representatives of the National Weather Service had been set to attend.

The Weather Service officials stayed at the festival site to help handle the response to the storm, Ms. Russell said.

“No one wants to make this call, but we cannot predict nor negotiate with the weather tonight,” the city manager, Patrick Duhaney, said in a statement on Facebook announcing the cancellation. “It is our responsibility to ensure public safety above all else.”