Tornado Damages Pfizer Plant in North Carolina

Facts

• On Wednesday, a powerful tornado severely damaged a Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in Nash County, North Carolina, reportedly strewing roughly 50K pallets of medicine across the facility.¹
• Though the plant, which produces nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in US hospitals, saw parts of its roof ripped off, Pfizer said there were no reports of serious injuries and all employees were safely evacuated.²
• According to the Raleigh office of the National Weather Service, the tornado, which injured 13 people and destroyed nearly 90 structures throughout the state, was "consistent with an EF3 tornado and wind speeds of 150 mph."³
• Besides causing significant damage in North Carolina, the tornado also resulted in high temperatures in Arizona and Florida, as well as flooding in Kentucky.⁴
• The news comes amid a period of extreme global weather — while Phoenix marked 19 straight days of temperatures of 110°F (43°C) or more on Tuesday, Miami marked its 16th straight day of temperatures above 105°F (40°C).¹
• Additionally, Kentucky has recently received the heaviest rainfall in the state's history, with water swamping homes and vehicles and inundating entire neighborhoods.⁵

Sources: ¹FOX News, ²CBS, ³Newsweek, ⁴NBC, and ⁵Washington Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Huffington Post. The destruction at the Pfizer plant is a microcosm of the broader climate emergency. Regions across the country are continuing to see record-breaking temperatures, which come after unusual amounts of rain and flooding and increased numbers of extreme storms. This situation should be setting off alarm bells and forcing all of us into acting to save the planet and protect our critical infrastructure.
• Narrative B, as provided by Newsbusters. Heat waves may occasionally break records, but claims that temperatures are worsening every year have already been debunked. Some media outlets are attempting to peddle climate alarmism, but this is nothing new — CNN misled audiences two years ago when it said nighttime temperatures in Las Vegas were unprecedented. This unsubstantiated narrative emerges from the woodwork every summer, and this year will be no different.

Predictions