Severe heat and flooding hit rest of U.S.; tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina

phoenix – Tornadoes wreaked havoc on Wednesday at a major Pfizer pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in North Carolina, while torrential rains flooded communities in Kentucky and added heat to areas from California to South Florida.

Pfizer confirmed in an email that its large manufacturing facility was damaged by a Twister that fell near Rocky Mount just after noon, but said there were no reports of serious injuries. A company statement later said that all employees had been safely evacuated and had recovered safely.

Part of the roof of a huge building was torn off. Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said the Pfizer factory contained a large amount of pharmaceuticals that were spilled.

“We have received reports of 50,000 pallets of medical supplies scattered throughout the facility and damaged by the elements,” Stone said.

The plant produces nearly 25 percent of the sterile injectable drugs Pfizer supplies to U.S. hospitals, along with anesthetics and other drugs, according to the company’s website. Erin Foxx, senior director of pharmacy at Utah Health University, said the damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer moves production elsewhere or works to rebuild.”

The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado with winds up to 150 mph (240 km/h).

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, which is part of Rocky Mount, said on Facebook that three people were reportedly injured in the tornado, two of them with life-threatening injuries.

Preliminary reports from neighboring Nash County said 13 people were injured and 89 structures were damaged, WRAL-TV reported. report.

Three homes owned by Brian Burnell and his family near Dorches were damaged. He told the press he was grateful that everyone was alive. His sister and children hid in the laundry room at home.

“They got where they needed to be in the house and everything worked out,” Burnell said, near a house that had lost a large portion of its exterior walls and roof.

Elsewhere in the United States, heatwaves and flooding continued to rise, with Phoenix setting record-high temperatures and Kentucky rescuers pulling people out of rain-soaked homes and vehicles.

Meteorologists said little recovery was seen from the heat and storms. Miami, for example, has endured a heat index of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) for several weeks, and temperatures are expected to rise this weekend.

Kentucky meteorologist warned of a “life-threatening situation” Flash floods from thunderstorms flooded the communities of Mayfield and Wingo this week. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency in the state on Wednesday as more storms threatened.

Weather forecasters expect up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain to continue in parts of Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

The storm system is expected to move over New England on Thursday and Friday. Saturation continues after recent floods. In Connecticut, a mother and her 5-year-old daughter died Tuesday after being swept away by a swollen river. The search continues in southeastern Pennsylvania. Two children caught in a flash flood Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Phoenix set a new warmest minimum temperature record of 97 degrees Celsius (36.1 degrees Celsius) Wednesday morning, raising the threat of heatstroke for residents unable to cool off enough overnight. The previous record was 96°F (35.6°C) in 2003, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Lindsay Lamont, who works at Sweet Republic Phoenix, an ice cream shop, said business during the day was slowing as people took shelter indoors to escape the heat. “But as the evenings start to get cooler, more people are definitely coming to buy ice cream,” says Lamont.

The number of heat-related deaths continues to rise in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is ​​located. Public health officials reported Wednesday that six more heat stroke deaths were confirmed last week, bringing the total to 18 so far this year. All six were not necessarily confirmed to have had heatstroke in the last week, as some deaths may have occurred weeks earlier, but were only confirmed to have heatstroke after a thorough investigation.

By this time last year, there were 29 confirmed heat-related deaths in the county, with 193 more under investigation.

Phoenix is ​​a desert city with a population of over 1.6 million. set another record on Tuesday US cities recorded temperatures above 110°F (43.3°C) for the 19th straight day. It crossed 110 again on Wednesday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsch said Wednesday’s high of 119 degrees Celsius (48.3 degrees Celsius) in Phoenix tied the city’s fourth-highest-ever record. The highest temperature ever recorded was 122°F (50°C) in 1990.

Miami recorded a heat index above 105°F (40.6°C) for 16 consecutive days across the United States. The previous record was five days in June 2019.

“Temperatures are only going to get warmer later in the week and into the weekend,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Cameron Pine.

The region also reported 100°F (37.8°C) baseline heat index for the 38th straight day, with sea surface temperatures several degrees above normal.

“There’s really no immediate prospect of a bailout,” Pine said.

A 71-year-old man from the Los Angeles area died Tuesday afternoon at the trailhead of Death Valley National Park in eastern California as temperatures reached over 121 degrees Fahrenheit (49.4 degrees Celsius) and rangers suspected the heat was the cause, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday.

This is probably the second heat-related fatality in Death Valley this summer. On July 3, a 65-year-old man was found dead in his car.

man-made cause climate change and the new El Niño phenomenon, breaking heat records around the worldsays the scientist.

The entire planet is boiling, and both regions are experiencing record heat. June and July.Almost every day this month, the average global temperature warmer than the hottest unofficial day It was recorded before 2023, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.

Atmospheric scientists say: global warming responsible for The unrelenting heat of the Southwest is also making The reality is that extreme rains are more frequent.

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Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press reporter Anita Snow of Phoenix, Frida Frisaro of Miami, Jonel Alecia of Temecula, Calif., and Rebecca Reynolds of Louisville, Kentucky contributed to this report.