DORTCHES, N.C. – Dortches Mayor Jackie Vick was just considering heading out to mow the lawn on a hot summer day on July 19, 2023, when the town as he knew it changed forever in less than a minute.
One year ago, a devastating EF3 tornado cut a 16.5-mile path through Nash and Edgecombe counties and left a trail of destruction in its wake. The tornado ripped trees from the ground, destroyed homes and tore through a Pfizer plant that made essential drugs for hospitals.
Vick was in the Town Hall when the tornado struck. He recalled how, in just 40 seconds, three homes around the building were destroyed. As the twister hit, it jumped over Town Hall, leaving the building, U.S. flag and Town Hall sign relatively unscathed.
“It's amazing how a tornado can tear this house down, that house down, do just a little bit of shingle damage on the one over here and basically skip Town Hall,” he recalled.
Not even a mile away, the damage grew exponentially for the residents of Puckett Mobile Home Park.
That’s where Navy veteran Michael Poythress, his partner Debbie Moore and their dog Sabot sheltered in the mobile home they had just bought the year before. The couple did not have insurance.
“I grabbed the hem of her nightgown and the back of his harness,” Poythress recalled. “As soon as I had ahold of both of them, the tornado hit us.”
In just seconds, the EF3 swept up their mobile home and tossed it across the yard as if it was just toothpicks.
“We came up where the house was upside down with the floor on the other side of us, you know, [I] was still holding on to the harness. And it briefly knocked her out,” he said.
The couple, who had been inseparable for a decade, had to go to the hospital where Debbie was treated for bruises and scratches all over her body from waking up under rubble.
Debbie’s health had been already declining for years, according to Michael. “She died December 15th”, Michael said. “Five months after the tornado, she died.”
“For years, I took care of her. That was my purpose,” Michael said. “My purpose was to take it away when she died. So, I'm kind of lost right now.”
As he goes through the healing process, Michael recalled when a hurricane destroyed his apartment in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Michael said this time, the community showed up and has helped in countless ways to get him back on his feet.
“I had a lot of help, bought this new house, new home, after all the belongings were taken from us on July 19th,” he said. “And by October 15th, we moved in here. So, Deborah was able to live here for two months before she died.”
“I like it here [Dortches]. It's a nice community,” Michael said. “But, now that she's gone, I really do wish I was somewhere else. Because I can't turn around without seeing her. It's kind of hard.”
The mayor said everyone who needed help was able to receive assistance from the state, though they wish they didn’t need it.
“As bad as the tornado was, I mean, a lot of good has come out of it: people helping people.”
