(SANFORD) -- A portion of South Horner Blvd. in Sanford is a disaster area after a tornado leveled the Lowes home improvement store on Saturday.  Sen. Kay Hagan toured the store site with manager Mike Hollowell.

Hollowell and his staff are credited with likely saving countless lives.  He and his staff acted quickly to get more than 100 employees and customers to the safest part of the building as they saw a tornado approaching. "We just kind of funneled everybody we could to the back where it is kind of re-enforced the most and luckily we just got everybody we could find," said Hollowell.  "Between the rumbling and the screams, it was kind of horrific."

Sanford Mayor Cornelia Olive made an urgent plea to Sen. Hagan for help. "We've got so many people who are homeless...there are probably 25 to 50 houses that have been destroyed," said Olive.

Sen. Hagan said FEMA is coordinating with local and state government to insure that the support is in place for recovery efforts across central and eastern North Carolina. She cleared her calendar on Monday to tour more damaged areas including Bertie and Wake counties.