Emergency personnel confer in front of Lowes Home Improvement after it was hit by a tornado in Sanford, N.C., Saturday, April 16, 2011. Homes and businesses were badly damaged Saturday by a severe storm system that whipped across North Carolina, bringing flash floods, hail and reports of tornadoes from the western hills to the streets of Raleigh. In the Lee County town of Sanford, a Lowe's store was smashed by the storm. "The Lowe's Home Improvement has been flattened," said Monica Elliott, who works at the nearby Brick City Grill. "It's totally destroyed." (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)