[3] WVAB had a long history in Virginia Beach, moving from a popular music station to strictly news and finally gospel programming.
The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported that both WVAB—which had carried local gospel programming—and WBVA were off the air, with was no word on when or if they would return.
Margie Long with the Virginia Beach Police Department was quoted in local media as saying "The tower, approximately 200 ft. of it, collapsed to the ground.
[9] According to the commission's records, WVAB operated for a total of 357 days in the two license terms between April 1, 2008, and November 30, 2017, and was silent for the remaining period of nearly nine years.
When it did operate, in order to avoid automatic deletion of its license after one continuous year of silence, it was at 6 watts from a temporary transmitter site at the western edge of Virginia Beach, Virginia; the FCC estimated that WVAB covered two percent of its licensed service area from that site.