Story at a glance
- A severe tornado tore through Illinois last Friday, hitting an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill.
- Six people were killed as the storm ripped the roof off of the warehouse and cement walls came crashing down.
- The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said that it was “inexcusable” for Amazon to require workers to continue working through the severe weather event.
- Amazon said as soon as there was a tornado warning in Edwardsville, “the team took immediate action to move to shelter in place locations.”
Six people were killed when a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, and as the identities of the victims become public, criticisms for the retail giant are also coming out.
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In a city 275 miles from Chicago, Edwardsville, Ill. experienced an EF3 tornado on Friday night. The storm tore through an Amazon warehouse and six people were killed.
Authorities said the tornado brought wind speeds up to 155 mph, ripping the roof off of the warehouse and causing the concrete walls to collapse as workers remained inside.
The City of Edwardsville released a statement confirming the victims as 28-year-old Deandre S. Morrow, 62-year-old Keven D. Dickey, 29-year-old Clayton Lynn Cope, 34-year-old Etheria S. Hebb, 46-year-old Larry E. Virden and 26-year-old Austin J. McEwen.
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One of the victims’ daughters, Justice Virden, told local media that after she learned her father was among the warehouse collapse victims, “I walked out of that building after they told me he was gone, and I dropped to my knees and screamed at the sky at the top of my lungs.”
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) released a statement on Saturday following the warehouse collapse and criticized Amazon for allegedly requiring its workers to continue working through a major tornado, calling it, “inexcusable.”
Stuart Appelbaum, president of RWDSU, said in a statement, “this is another outrageous example of the company putting profits over the health and safety of their workers, and we cannot stand for this. Amazon cannot continue to be let off the hook for putting hard working people’s lives at risk.”
In an emailed statement to Changing America, Amazon said as soon as there was a tornado warning in Edwardsville, “the team took immediate action to move to shelter in place locations.”
“People at all levels of the company have been working around the clock across the country to monitor the situation and support the recovery, and we know this will be a long-term effort,” said Alisa Carroll of Amazon, to Changing America.
Amazon also said it is donating $1 million to the Edwardsville Community Foundation and working with local and state officials to aid in recovery efforts.
Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said during a Saturday news conference that once authorities began receiving reports of workers being trapped, a fire unit arrived within six minutes.
Whiteford went on to say that the damage from the tornado was significant and authorities didn’t expect to find any more survivors.
“These walls are made out of 11-inch thick concrete, and they’re about 40 feet tall, so a lot of weight from that came down,” Whiteford said.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also released a series of tweets on Saturday acknowledging the warehouse collapse, saying in part, “we’ve been closely monitoring the terrible situation in Edwardsville, and are heartbroken over the loss of our team members.”
Illinois isn’t the only state that suffered, a total of at least five states across the country were hit with severe storms, with President Joe Biden describing it as one of the, “largest tornado outbreaks in our history,” during remarks delivered on Saturday. The president confirmed the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on the ground helping with emergency response efforts.
At least 84 people have died from the severe storms across Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, according to CNN.
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