United Way's tornado relief fund raises $47K for NC tornado victims

Many homes in Edgecombe and Nash counties need intensive repairs and rebuilds after last week’s EF3 tornado devastated the community.

WRAL News viewers have stepped up to support a relief fund for victims of the tornado in Rocky Mount.

The United Way’s Twin County Tornado Relief Fund is up to $47,000 as of Thursday afternoon. The total doubled from about $25,000 on Wednesday.

The United Way wants to raise $500,000 before opening the funding to applicants.

Organizers say they still need support.

Every dollar raised will go to help those who have been affected by the tornado.

Repairs, rebuilds needed in Edgecombe County

Terria Battle’s have lived for decades in Edgecombe County. Last Wednesday, her dad and her sister were homewhen Battle got an alert that a tornado had touchded down.

“When I got here, trees were leaning, [and] the house was dusty,” Battle said. “We saw that the windows had been blown out, but we were praying that my dad and sister were ok.”

Neither person was hurt, but the house suffered significant damage. Windows were blown out and the roof needs replacing.

Next door, the neighbors fared worse. The tornado ripped multiple homes to shreds.

“I’m sure there are people that are not going to be able to meet their own needs, and they will need some type of assistance, and we could use that too,” Battle said.

The state is evaluating the damage to set aside disaster relief funding. On Friday, state leaders hope to have an update on the process.

Battle said any assistance will go a long way in helping the community rebuild.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, which is what we’ve been doing ever since the day after, but it’s going to take a lot of funds to get back to where we were,” Battle said.