RALEIGH N.C. — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat.
Pfizer confirmed the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.
Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.
The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs, as well as nearly 25% of the sterile injectable medications Pfizer supplies to U.S. hospitals, the company said on its website. Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, said the damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds.”
The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 240 kph.
The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, where part of Rocky Mount is located, said on Facebook that they had reports of three people injured in the tornado and that two of them had life-threatening injuries.
A preliminary report from neighboring Nash County said 13 people were injured and 89 structures were damaged, WRAL-TV reported.
Three homes owned by Brian Varnell and his family members in the nearby Dortches area were damaged. He told the news outlet he is thankful they are all alive. His sister and her children hid in their home’s laundry room.
Source : VOA News
