SUFFOLK -- Victims of Monday’s tornado seem split as to whether more could have been done to prevent the extreme damage left in the twister’s wake.

Officials say that one can never be prepared enough for a disaster of Monday’s magnitude, and say they feel help from area jurisdictions and volunteers was prompt and efficient.

“Our initial assessment is it went very well,” said Suffolk Fire Chief Mark Outlaw. “You can never be totally prepared for an event such as this.”

Mother Nature was hard to compete with. Her blow came through at the blink of an eye, and even those coming to help had a difficult time getting through.

“Before we could even get officers in the area, we started receiving reports of property damage,” said Lt. Debbie George, spokeswoman for the Suffolk Police Department. “It started getting difficult for officers to get to this area.”

Some tornado victims say there were moments of disorganization and lack of communication.

“Definitely could have handled things better,” said Amber William.

In one corner of Kings Fork and Godwin Boulevard, roads were shut down, access to homes was denied and many parents worried they could not get to their kids. Many parked and hiked in, despite warnings of gas leaks and other dangers.

George says foot traffic was hard to control given the situation and resources.

“We were able to stop vehicular traffic, but foot traffic is something that’s hard to contain with the resources we had and what we’re dealing with,” she said. “Do you stop one person from walking across the field or do you deal with the person under a tree.”

When we suggested that could be an area marked for improvement, George replied, “I don’t think there’s one area we’re going to exclude from the critique in the review of what we did.”

Still, residents, like Lisa Hammick, are more than pleased with the way officials responded. There are no reports of any deaths so far, and Hammick says that speaks volumes about the way things were handled.

After all is said and done, there will be a major review on the local level. Gov. Kaine says the state will also take a look to see how they can improve in the future.