Rocky Mount businesses still recovering 6 months after EF-3 tornado: 'It's been a lot of waiting'

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's been six months since an EF-3 tornado touched down in Rocky Mount and destroyed a number of businesses on or around US-301.

Glass and cinderblock that were tossed are lodged in the ground, the Hing Ta Restaurant is fenced off and boarded up, and an auto repair shop and medical supply building have both been leveled.

There's no word on what comes next for the business, but there is progress in other nearby areas.

Work at a dental office just started this past Monday.

"It's been a lot of waiting," said Chris Long of Long Home Repair. "We've been working with the bank on this one for six months now. We were actually getting ready to just start doing a renovation on this property when the tornado came through, and we had to start all over again."

On that day, Long was working on another job in Rocky Mount as the winds started kicking up, and soon, the tornado touched down right near where he was working.

"I was worried to death about that one. I wasn't even thinking about this one," said Long.

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Repairs are also nearly finished at a shopping center.

Small businesses are excited to reopen their doors in a few weeks after living through the storm and dealing with the financial setback.

"Those four months that I did not have, it was hard for me," said Pretty Essential Owner Keisha Justice.

The Rocky Mount community has experienced two back-to-back tornadoes. The first one hit the Pzifer plant in 2023.

The City said in both cases, crews responded quickly, and residents did their part to uplift those suffering.

"I don't know what it's like anywhere else, but my experience in this place is a very generous people with people with big hearts and willing to open up their pocketbooks and their churches and their spaces to try to help other people in need," said Rocky Mount City Manager Petery Varney.