Their bodies, which were thrown 300 yards from the residence, were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Norfolk pending identification, police said. Their relationships or other information beyond their age were not released. Eight people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

After the storm passed, debris littered U.S. 460 and state Route 40, rendering impassable the main roads into Waverly. Front yards resembled swamps as police imposed a 7:30 p.m. curfew.

Witnesses said there was little warning before the storm swept through the town. Timothy Williams said a friend had just come by to take his new car for a drive when the storm hit.

“It picked the car right off the ground, and put it right back on the ground,” said Williams. He said they remained in the car until the storm passed.

The storm blew down electrical wires “in a big ball of fire, thrashing all about each other,” Williams said. He said they escaped shaken but uninjured.

Williams said another friend lived in the mobile home that was destroyed.

“The whole trailer gone. My friend, the trailer, everything gone,” he said. “He’s dead.”