Mass casualty incident reported after tornado hits Amazon distribution center in Illinois - Officials are confirming there are fatalities at the Amazon facility in Edwardsville following Friday night’s severe weather.

[Aib Ld]

Tornadoes can also happen outside of a tornado watch, in this year's summer in one outbreak, some state was under a tornado watch for hours then was called off which fortunately nothing happened. Unfortunately, a stray tornado appeared minutes after the watch was called off
It's why some people only breathe a sigh of relief after the storm line is past them, not when the watch is called off, because of how fickle storms can be and some just can't be predicted because of it. Brief spin-ups can be like this too, mostly from hurricanes.

EDIT:

IL governor and police chief just had a news conference. PC said the warehouse walls were 11” thick concrete and they collapsed inward while the roof collapsed straight down.

That sounds really weird, concrete sounds like good for shelter, but them collapsing inward with whatever the roof is made of? Something might be wrong with the walls, its the wrong kind of concrete, or thats a really strong nado.

 

[NotYourMom]

That sounds really weird, concrete sounds like good for shelter, but them collapsing inward with whatever the roof is made of? Something might be wrong with the walls, its the wrong kind of concrete, or thats a really strong nado.

I think this has to do with the strength of the tornado and the absolute size of the Amazon warehouse. Once the wall blew in, there was nothing left in that section to hold the roof up.

This tornado threw cars into buildings and obliterated structures down to the concrete slab. It potentially has the highest wind speed ever recorded by the National Weather Service.

In other words, it is a big fucking deal of a tornado and completely unprecedented for the area it travelled through.

 

[MadStan]

Mayfield is obliterated. Stronger building even of brick and reasonable sander block were raised to the ground too. Quite a tornado storm.

No doubt we will hear from rednecks how God chose to save them - but not offer an explanation as to why the other 100 odd people were killed by God.

 

[Meat Target]

This tweet is rightfully getting ratioed. What a charming thing to say for those affected by the storms two weeks before Christmas

These replies help me feel less MATI.

 

[Mepsi Pax]

...reasonable sander block were raised to the ground too. Quite a tornado storm.

No doubt we will hear from rednecks how God chose to save them - but not offer an explanation as to why the other 100 odd people were killed by God.

The "rednecks" will get right on that as soon as they're done laughing about your mastery of the English language. Fucking "sander block"? At least "raised" actually manages to be a homonym. It was indeed quite a tornado storm wind weather. There's no way you're a jew as you've claimed previously, I've never met a jew that was so illiterate.

 

[Clockwork_PurBle]

Mayfield is obliterated. Stronger building even of brick and reasonable sander block were raised to the ground too. Quite a tornado storm.

No doubt we will hear from rednecks how God chose to save them - but not offer an explanation as to why the other 100 odd people were killed by God.

Much like how the US government never lets a crisis go to waste, fedoralords never let natural disasters go to waste.

 

[beet644]

I work out of this building for an Amazon subcontractor. The moment I pulled in with my van to go home. I herd a sound at first I was like that is not rain. Then I realized what it was I ran from my van to the Bath room then All hell broke loose after we wlak out of the bathroom half the building was flat.

 

[beet644]

61F/16C in Edwardsville right now. Is that normal for this time of year?

I live in the area and no it is not.

 

[nigga that crab pollack]

I work out of this building for an Amazon subcontractor. The moment I pulled in with my van to go home. I herd a sound at first I was like that is not rain. Then I realized what it was I ran from my van to the Bath room then All hell broke loose after we wlak out of the bathroom half the building was flat.

yeah me too dude it was crazy lol

 

[FFinfo]

Is there not meant to be building codes to prevent this kind of happening?
Or are those solely used to prevent damage from earthquakes?

A lot harder for the giant box design of a warehouse to be built around direct/near-direct hits from a tornado and it is to have it prevent shaking apart in an earthquake.

 

[Constellationzero]

It gets plenty of tornadoes, especially the further south you go in the state, and tons of damaging windstorms too. Deadliest in the 20th century occurred in Illinois. I think I read somewhere that "tornado striking Chicago" is considered one of the worst potential disasters that's scarily plausible (only a few places below "Cascadia tsunami" and "Memphis/St. Louis earthquake") because the area (or Chicago at least) is considered not prepared enough compared to cities like Dallas or OKC. So the risk is probably high enough that greater disaster preparedness is worth it.

Are you talking about the 2015 Fairdale tornado? I was walking across the campus at my grad school when the sirens went off. My wife actually watched the tornado pass her workplace while a co-worker filmed it. Area just outside of Rochelle was fuuuuuuucked up.

 

[JustSomeDong]

Are you talking about the 2015 Fairdale tornado? I was walking across the campus at my grad school when the sirens went off. My wife actually watched the tornado pass her workplace while a co-worker filmed it. Area just outside of Rochelle was fuuuuuuucked up.

A storm seriously fucked up a few towns I know well in central IL back in 2013. My aunt's house barely escaped a huge swath of destruction. The other side of her block was just destroyed. We get a few storms like this every year, from November to February, watchout for unseasonably warm windy days, they bring exciting times. A tornado siren on xmas is not an unheard of event. There's a lot of suburban sprawl and rural areas, so storms that devastating to life and property are pretty rare, but at least a few people get their shit wrecked every year.

 

[A Widdle Woach]

In the wake of this storm I can’t stress enough how important it is to be prepared for tornadoes if you live in tornado alley.

If you have the space for it a storage tub with basic supplies (water, clothes, a jacket, blankets, instant meals, first aid kit, flashlights, wind up generators, a radio, cash, pet supplies, etc) will be an absolute godsend should the worst happen. Keep the tub in the basement or wherever your shelter is and update the supplies at least once a year. It’s always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Be safe kiwis.

 

[Smoke Manmuscle]

I work in a large factory in tornado alley and the employee locker rooms were specifically built out cinder blocks to make a tornado shelter that can hold the entire plant of the sirens go off. This is common down here that I assume it’s an insurance thing.

From what I’m hearing in this thread it actually sounds like the Amazon warehouse did the right thing and sheltered the employees in a similar style “tornado shelter” but the storm was so powerful it knocked a wall down and that brought the roof down on the people.

 

[Zbk3VmLfujjzjxBd43tL]

Are you talking about the 2015 Fairdale tornado? I was walking across the campus at my grad school when the sirens went off. My wife actually watched the tornado pass her workplace while a co-worker filmed it. Area just outside of Rochelle was fuuuuuuucked up.

No, I might be misremembering things but I think it was a pop-science article which sourced some civil engineering group or disaster preparedness agency. But a major tornado striking downtown Chicago has been a worry for like 10-15 years since History Channel (right before the aliens/Nostradamus craze) had a show about hypothetical disasters and had one about tornado hitting Chicago. It keeps popping up so I assume the area isn't prepared for a major tornado like your average Texas city is.

I work in a large factory in tornado alley and the employee locker rooms were specifically built out cinder blocks to make a tornado shelter that can hold the entire plant of the sirens go off. This is common down here that I assume it’s an insurance thing.

If it's a big enough tornado you're fucked if it's a direct hit since it'll either suck you out or it'll blow some debris in there. Like there's cases of perfectly installed storm shelters which get smashed up because an F4 tornado wrecked it just enough a propane tank or some other giant object can fly in there.

 

[beautiful person]

I work in a large factory in tornado alley and the employee locker rooms were specifically built out cinder blocks to make a tornado shelter that can hold the entire plant of the sirens go off. This is common down here that I assume it’s an insurance thing.

From what I’m hearing in this thread it actually sounds like the Amazon warehouse did the right thing and sheltered the employees in a similar style “tornado shelter” but the storm was so powerful it knocked a wall down and that brought the roof down on the people.

The lady from inside the candle factory said they were in the "safe shelter place" when the storm hit. Wall fell on her but she survived.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

interview with Keanna

I've seen a lot of people questioning why people in tornado zones either don't react sooner or decide to go to work when there is gonna be one.

 

[MuuMuu Bunnylips]

And a few of them probably died while pissing into plastic bottles, how undignified.

They worked for Amazon; they knew what they were getting into.

 

[Meat Target]

In the wake of this storm I can’t stress enough how important it is to be prepared for tornadoes if you live in tornado alley.

If you have the space for it a storage tub with basic supplies (water, clothes, a jacket, blankets, instant meals, first aid kit, flashlights, wind up generators, a radio, cash, pet supplies, etc) will be an absolute godsend should the worst happen. Keep the tub in the basement or wherever your shelter is and update the supplies at least once a year. It’s always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Be safe kiwis.

Also, if there's a severe weather watch or warning, heed it and take it as seriously as a heart attack.

One of the reasons the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado was so deadly is that people ignored the warning until it was too late. Normalcy bias and the "it can't happen here" mentality can literally kill you.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

This one was like the 2011 storm that hit where I live, and that one completely removed a bunch of small towns, along with large chunks of two large cities. Just before it did, the thing went right past where my wife lived, easily within 100m & following the valley. It even hoovered up the stream & pond at the bottom, and destroying two churches down the road on it's way to town. I was in trade school in Florida at the time, and came up here directly after it happened.

The swath of destruction was something I hadn't seen since Iraq and it definitely triggered some shit, but that PTSD is nothing compared to my wife's tornado PTSD.

It took almost 5 years to even clean up (mostly), though a lot of it has been overgrown; and 10 years later the scars are easily visible & felt.

Tornados are no joke, pay attention to warnings; don't try to make tornado tik-tok videos; you might end up in the videos of people dying thread.