Assessing Environmental and Pharmaceutical Vulnerability Using NDVI: A Case Study of the EF-3 Tornado in Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Abstract

On July 19, 2023, an EF-3 tornado struck Rocky Mount, North Carolina, severely impacting the environment and damaging Pfizer’s pharmaceutical facility. This project uses the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to analyze environmental vulnerability before and after the tornado. Landsat 8 satellite imagery was used to compare NDVI data from two weeks before and four weeks after the event. Using ArcGIS, zonal statistics and raster analysis identified areas of significant vegetation loss across urban, forested and agricultural zones along the 16-mile tornado path. Results revealed notable decreases in NDVI values, indicating widespread loss of vegetation and soil disruption. Damage to the Pfizer plant, which produces about 25% of U.S. hospital-injectable medicines, emphasized the tornado’s critical pharmaceutical impact. This study demonstrates how geospatial science tools like NDVI can assess environmental vulnerability and disaster impact, helping guide future planning, emergency response and infrastructure resilience in a changing climate.