A tornado that struck Rocky Mount, N.C., on Wednesday damaged a Pfizer plant that produces medical supplies for hospitals across the United States.

What You Need To Know

  • An EF3 tornado ripped through a Pzifer medical manufacturing plant Wednesday 

  • The Nash County Sheriff, Keith Stone, said about 50,000 pallets of medicine was destoryed at the plant

  • No injuries have been reported among employees, who followed safety protcol and evaucatued 

  • The damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds,” according to a pharmacy expert with the Univesity of Utah 

The tornado that touched down near the town about 12:30 p.m. was an EF3, indicating winds of up to 150 mph, National Weather Service officials said.

Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister. It said in a later email, without giving workforce numbers, that the plant employees followed safety procedures and evacuated and all “are safe 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 by the storm, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone, adding, “I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind.”

The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in U.S. hospitals, Pfizer 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.”

About 100 vehicles and 75 hauling trucks were damaged, Rocky Mount city officials report.

Downed power lines on the property could take up to a week to repair.

The plant is “one of the largest sterile injectable facilities in the world,” according to Pfizer’s website, which says it makes almost a quarter of sterile injectables used in the nation’s hospitals.

As of Wednesday evening, no injuries were reported at the facility. Thursday afternoon, the company's CEO tweeted out a statement, saying in part: 

"All of us at Pfizer have spent the past 24 hours concerned about our colleagues and contractors at our Rocky Mount facility. ... I am very relieved to share that all have been confirmed safe, and no serious injuries were reported."