ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. -- Severe weather can happen anywhere and at any time.
It's why the National Weather Service urges people in North Carolina to come up with a plan during Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Some neighbors learned the importance of preparation when a tornado tore through Eden ten months ago.
"It lifted the building off of the foundation. Then the roof blew off," Peter Crouch, the Owner of Eden Drug, explained. "It just took our building out."
Crouch's business offices and education center were destroyed in the tornado. The area where the building used to stand is now just an empty lot.
However, Crouch says they were as prepared as they could have been.
"When it happened, my staff to did an amazing job. They were on the scene, they were taking care of records," he said. "Taking care of things that could be salvaged."
They were able to save most of the medical records being stored in the building.
Just down the road, though, neighbor Linda Belton has some regrets. The tornado went over her house and knocked a tree onto her car.
"Lord have mercy the trees were laying everywhere. Cars torn up," she said. "We're lucky that we are here today."
Belton said she wishes she would have had an emergency kit ready to go when the tornado hit.
"I needed a flashlight to get around and I didn't have one," Belton explained. "The power was out."
The national weather service recommends packing an emergency kit with a flashlight, batteries, water, food, radio and first aid supplies.
The weather service also stresses the importance of having insurance like Crouch did.
"We actually used the money to buy a totally new building. So sometimes when life gives you lemons you're able to make lemonade," Crouch said.
CLICK HERE for Severe Weather Preparedness tips from the National Weather Service.