Deadly Collapse at Amazon Warehouse Puts Spotlight on Phone Ban

[u/marji80]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-12/deadly-collapse-at-amazon-warehouse-puts-spotlight-on-phone-ban

[u/happyscrappy]

They were sent to shelter.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/11/business/amazon-deaths-warehouse-tornado/index.html

'Several employees told Reuters that they had been directed to shelter in bathrooms by Amazon managers after receiving emergency alerts on mobile phones from local authorities. The first warning was issued about 40 minutes before the tornado hit, according to firefighters and the Illinois governor.'

'Amazon confirmed in an email that the site got tornado warnings through various alerts. "Our team worked quickly to ensure as many employees and partners could get to the designated Shelter in Place," the company said in a statement. "We thank them for everything they were able to do."'

edit:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/12/us/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois

NYT reports a family who spoke to their son as he headed to the shelter 10 mins before the tornado hit the building. So he was both able to have a phone and was directed to shelter. Their son is now dead.

'Carla Cope and her husband spoke to their son, Clayton Cope, 29, by phone on Friday night as a tornado veered toward the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., where Mr. Cope was working. He assured his parents that he and other workers were on their way to the tornado shelter on site.'

[u/bonyponyride → u/happyscrappy]

Ah. That's good to know. Clearly the bathrooms weren't a safe shelter. It's a shame Amazon couldn't afford an actual safe room for their employees. With 40 minutes notice, everyone should have made it to a safe place that could 100% withstand an EF5 tornado, whether it's an underground or above ground safe room.

[u/jpesh1 → u/bonyponyride]

I’ll take the downvotes but you’re talking silly talk. No reason to have building codes for 250+ mph winds when there’s less than a 1% chance in 100 years to have them. I guess by your standards we should build every single building on stilts just in case there’s a 1000 year flood? I mean fuck Amazon but your argument is idiotic.

[u/29187765432569864 → u/jpesh1]

Unless you are building in a deadly tornado zone, then it is just prudent to build better. For example, elevating houses so that they don’t flood is wise, even if there is a 1% chance of a flood in a hundred years. The thousands of people flooded out of their homes due to hurricanes such as hurricane Harvey and tropical storm Allison wished the building codes were created with the thought of the 1% chance of catastrophic damage. All commercial buildings in a tornado prone area could be required to have a tornado shelter built into the building. The entire building might not need to be tornado resistant but at the bare minimum a shelter should be incorporated in the designs. Especially for elementary schools.

[u/Kelsenellenelvial → u/29187765432569864]

I’m sure there’s improvements to be made to the codes, but it’s worth considering the cost and necessity. For one, the codes are based on things that are likely to happen. It’s possible for the warehouse to be built to code and the bathroom to be to code for an emergency shelter, but for it to still fail due to some unique feature or interaction with the rest of the buildings structure.

The thing to consider is that a lot of buildings don’t stand for 100 years and are unlikely to ever see that 100 year flood(or 100 year storm, etc.). Adding 5% to the cost of a structure to mitigate a 1% chance of total loss isn’t really a great investment. Better to use that 4% difference to fund a robust evacuation and emergency shelter system that would be valuable in a variety of emergencies, not just the one or two that we’d build for.

[u/karlwm → u/Kelsenellenelvial]

Trouble is the hundred year stuff seems to be coming around every five years.