Several people were transported to the hospital after a twister touched down just after 12:30 p.m. in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. A portion of Interstate 95 was closed after the tornado tore across the major highway.
Published Jul 19, 2023 2:27 PM EDT | Updated Jul 20, 2023 5:34 PM EDT
Several people were sent to the hospital and significant damage was reported after a powerful tornado tore a 16.5-mile-long path through central North Carolina Wednesday afternoon. According to officials, no fatalities were reported from the storm.
The confirmed tornado was reported on the ground near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, which is about 44 miles northeast of Raleigh, just after 12:30 p.m. EDT.
After 4 p.m., local time, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Raleigh, North Carolina, reported at least EF2 tornado damage in Dortches, North Carolina, indicating winds had reached up to 135 mph.
People survey the damage to their home that was destroyed by a tornado on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Dortches, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
A couple of hours later, the NWS office issued an update on Twitter noting damage consistent with an EF3 tornado, with estimated winds of 150 mph, was found north of Rocky Mount.
The NWS noted this is the first EF3 tornado ever observed on record in central North Carolina in the month of July.
According to WRAL News Producer Ashley Foster, several people were transported to Nash General Hospital in Rocky Mount following the tornado.
According to Foster, the twister created significant damage to the Pfizer manufacturing facility, which is located in Rocky Mount. In a photo she shared on Twitter, a large swath of the roof could be seen caved into the building. Pfizer issued a statement Wednesday afternoon confirming that there were no serious injuries at the facility that was damaged during the storm.
Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said in a press conference on Wednesday that more than 50,000 pallets of medicine were reportedly tossed across the facility and damaged during Wednesday’s storm.
Erin Fox, a senior pharmacy director at the University of Utah Health, told The Associated Press that the damage to the Pfizer facility “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds.”
According to the Pfizer website, the facility in North Carolina produces nearly 25% of all sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals.
Photos shared on Twitter show the wedge-shaped tornado on the ground north of Rocky Mount.
As the twister traveled northeast, it crossed over several roads and a portion of Interstate 95. A traffic camera on I-95 in Dutches, North Carolina, showed vehicles at a complete standstill close to where the tornado likely passed over.
Both directions of I-95 were temporarily shut down to allow crews to clear the highway of debris, and were reopened shortly after 3 p.m. EDT, the Nash County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook update.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter that he had spoken with the sheriffs of Nash and Edgecombe counties about the tornado damage. “State personnel are helping get roads open and providing other assistance as needed,” Cooper said.
The Edgecomb County Sheriff's Office said deputies were working in the Battleboro and Whitakers areas in the aftermath of the twister. "There is scattered damage and power lines down in the area," the sheriff's office said.
In a video shared on Twitter, trees could be seen scattered along a road while the windows of a vehicle are completely knocked out. The Twitter user who shared the video wrote, “We were just in a tornado.”
“A reported tornado moved through the northern part of the city a short time ago. City crews are responding to power outages and downed trees,” Rocky Mount city officials wrote on Facebook. “Residents are urged to avoid areas north of Thomas A. Betts Parkway and the Battleboro vicinity.”
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