A tornado that struck Rocky Mount on Friday injured 15 people, four of them seriously, and destroyed buildings, authorities said.

A state of emergency was issued in the city after the storm, categorized by the National Weather Service as an EF3, swept through. 

"It was chaos, it was crazy," said Jose Christian, who works at the Hing Ta Restaurant on Wesleyan Boulevard in Rocky Mount and was inside when the storm struck.

"The tornado shredded everything," he said. "It was only a couple of seconds."

Rocky Mount Mayor C. Saunders Roberson Jr. declared a state of emergency Friday evening through Sunday due to the destruction caused by the tornado.

More than a dozen buildings were damaged, authorities said, and four structures were destroyed, Spectrum News meteorologists reported. 

The tornado touched down at about 1:30 p.m. and traveled a quarter of a mile with maximum wind speeds of 140 mph, according to the weather service. The powerful twister tossed vehicles into the air, the NWS stated.

Tornadoes are ranked on a scale of EF0 to EF5, with the latter being the most destructive.

Jonathan Edwards, Nash County public information manager, told Spectrum News 1 that people were being treated at the hospital for injuries due to the storm. 

He urged residents to continue to monitor local media and updates on conditions to stay safe.  

Nash County, which includes part of Rocky Mount, is no stranger to tornado damage. In July 2023, a powerful EF3 tornado tore through the area, injuring 16 people, shutting down Interstate 95 and causing damage to buildings, including a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant. 

Deaths related to Helene have happened in North Carolina already. One person was killed and another was seriously injured when a tree fell on a home in northwest Charlotte early Friday morning, according to officials. A 4-year-old girl was also killed in Catawba County Thursday when heavy rainfall from Helene caused the vehicle she was traveling in to crash.