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Chesapeake church severely damaged in Friday’s storms

Posted at 11:03 PM, Mar 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-31 23:23:10-04

CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Heavy winds took down part of a church in Chesapeake Friday evening.

Real Life Church on Centerville Turnpike suffered serious damages as part of the building to the right of the entrance collapsed.

Authorities said no one was inside at the time, according to affiliate WTKR.

Firefighters said they got a call that the alarms were going off just before 6:30 p.m.

Not only was part of the building collapsed but debris took out the power lines across the street.

Pieces of siding also wrapped around trees and the sign at the front of the property.

A longtime church member told News 3 the church started in a house and they were eventually able to expand to this building because of growth.

They are devastated to see it like this.

"Well it's a mess it's hard but you know we're going to get through this God's going to bless us through this and we're just going to continue on," Church Member James Green said. "It's just a stumbling block.

Firefighters will be entering the structure once the power is cut off to gather any valuables like laptops.

Members of the church say they expect to be at the site through Friday night to keep an eye on things.

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