Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 12, 2021 11:57:58 GMT -5
Hard to read about all the suffering and loss of life in the two factories and elsewhere. I hope at least some of the missing are found alive. www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crews-search-for-the-missing-after-devastating-tornadoes/ar-AARJxk8?ocid=msedgntpMAYFIELD, Ky. — Rescuers combed through fields of wreckage after a tornado outbreak roared across the middle of the U.S., leaving dozens dead and communities in despair.
A twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record as the stormfront smashed apart a candle factory, crushed a nursing home and flattened an Amazon distribution center.
In Kentucky alone, 22 were confirmed dead by late Saturday, including 11 in and around Bowling Green. But Beshear said upwards of 70 may have been killed when a twister touched down for more than 200 miles in his state and that the number of deaths could eventually exceed 100 across 10 or more counties.
The death toll of 36 across five states includes six people in Illinois, where an Amazon facility was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and two in Missouri.
If early reports are confirmed, the twister “will likely go down perhaps as one of the longest track violent tornadoes in United States history,” said Victor Gensini, a researcher on extreme weather at Northern Illinois University.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 12, 2021 12:04:23 GMT -5
www.azcentral.com/story/news/2021/12/11/one-dead-displaced-tornados-storms-tear-through-arkansas-nursing-homes/6477005001/Video at link. MONETTE, Arkansas — The nursing home residents huddled together on the south end of the building and tried to hold on to their pillows while they sang hymns.
It was what the nurses, who hovered over the residents as human shields from the storm debris, suggested they do to stay calm.
They sang "When We All Get to Heaven" and "Jesus Loves Me" and "One Day at a Time" as the wind was ripping their building apart, grabbing metal and bending it around tree branches, pulverizing concrete into rocks.
One 94-year-old resident died in the severe storms that destroyed the Monette Manor nursing home
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 12, 2021 12:26:30 GMT -5
I am angry about the injuries and deaths at the candle factory and at Amazon.
Additionally at lest at the Amazon distribution center (and all Amazon distribution centers), non-management employees are not allowed to carry their cell phone on their person while working. Cell phones must be left in their vehicles or stored in their work lockers. Their family and friends had no way to phone them of any impending danger.
And I imagine there were no tornado shelters within these facilities. Just cavernous buildings with no where to hide.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 12, 2021 12:40:57 GMT -5
Agreed Tenn. I believe the Amazon workers were told to shelter in place. That candle factory was demolished.
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tbop77
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Post by tbop77 on Dec 12, 2021 16:49:08 GMT -5
I live about 35 miles from Mayfield. There had been warnings for days about this storm. Our local tv station had warnings all night of what was coming that started in Jonesboro AR. I prepared a go bag, put by the bed, and slept in my clothes...including my shoes. When the tornado siren went off about 11 pm, I expected it to hit us at any time. I was very lucky. I know hindsight is 20/20, but if this were to ever happen again and I am at work, given the notice, I'm going home. I work at a steel service center where the tornado shelter we have to go to is in the breakroom in the plant that is loaded with steel. Think that is safe? I feel for those people at those plants, just went to work and trusted management had their interest at heart. I know the town of Mayfield was destroyed and they may have met the same fate, but in an emergency situation, they should have been sent home. Again, there were warnings this coming and it was going to be bad. And btw, I love our governor, isn't this the way leaders are supposed to act? “I want to thank every local emergency management employee, police officer, firefighter and first responder. This has been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history. It’s hard to put into words,” said Gov. Beshear. “Remember, each of these lost lives are children of God, irreplaceable to their families and communities. But we will make it through this. We will rebuild. We are strong, resilient people – and we’re going to be there every step of the way. This is one state standing strong.” www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/gov-beshear-updates-kentuckians-on-response-to-devastating-quad-state-tornado/article_c32a4316-5ac0-11ec-a1a9-17d2809e7dba.html
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kadee79
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S.W. Ga., zone 8b, out in the boonies!
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Post by kadee79 on Dec 12, 2021 16:51:58 GMT -5
Time to require huge employers to provide safe spaces for during a tornado...and someone should always have a cell phone for emergencies....that's dumb to make them leave them some other place.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 12, 2021 17:47:24 GMT -5
I live about 35 miles from Mayfield. There had been warnings for days about this storm. Our local tv station had warnings all night of what was coming that started in Jonesboro AR. I prepared a go bag, put by the bed, and slept in my clothes...including my shoes. When the tornado siren went off about 11 pm, I expected it to hit us at any time. I was very lucky. I know hindsight is 20/20, but if this were to ever happen again and I am at work, given the notice, I'm going home. I work at a steel service center where the tornado shelter we have to go to is in the breakroom in the plant that is loaded with steel. Think that is safe? I feel for those people at those plants, just went to work and trusted management had their interest at heart. I know the town of Mayfield was destroyed and they may have met the same fate, but in an emergency situation, they should have been sent home. Again, there were warnings this coming and it was going to be bad. And btw, I love our governor, isn't this the way leaders are supposed to act? “I want to thank every local emergency management employee, police officer, firefighter and first responder. This has been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history. It’s hard to put into words,” said Gov. Beshear. “Remember, each of these lost lives are children of God, irreplaceable to their families and communities. But we will make it through this. We will rebuild. We are strong, resilient people – and we’re going to be there every step of the way. This is one state standing strong.” www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/gov-beshear-updates-kentuckians-on-response-to-devastating-quad-state-tornado/article_c32a4316-5ac0-11ec-a1a9-17d2809e7dba.htmlYou mention Jonesboro: they had two confirmed tornados about an hour apart. Here in Memphis, we were watching the supercell storms/tornados which started in Arkansas on local TV channels from the very beginning. That was all there was on TV when it came to local channels. We knew the storms were kilers beginning around 6 p.m.. We watched them as they crossed the Mississippi River into northwest Tennessee and knew the severity of them, we watched them cross the border into Kentucky. They should not have been a surprise to anyone. We had been warned about severe weather for about 48 hours before the weather events began. Had the Supremecell storms developed about 15 miles east from where they began, some of them would have hit us here in Memphis, While the suprcell storms were spawning tornadoes in Kentucky, the cold front later that evening was triggering tornadoes and warnings too. We had a tornado warning here in Memphis when the front was approaching us around midnight. Fortunately, a tornado did not touch down. Just wind damage which killed one woman when a tree fell on/into hr home.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 12, 2021 18:49:29 GMT -5
With all that warning, its sad they did not call off the shift on duty for the candle factory and the Amazon warehouse. I wonder how bad the nightmares are going to be for those who survived it, but had to be pulled out.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 12, 2021 20:32:12 GMT -5
With all that warning, its sad they did not call off the shift on duty for the candle factory and the Amazon warehouse. I wonder how bad the nightmares are going to be for those who survived it, but had to be pulled out. In 2011 an EF-3 tornado struck Springfield, Massachusetts where I was born and raised. The tornado did a lot of damage including destroying the high school I attended in the '60s. A Facebook friend of mine still lives in Springfield and at the time of the tornado lived in her home which was across a small pond from my high school. My friend's home was heavily damaged by the tornado. She was home at the time it struck. She has been posting on Facebook the severe storms, death and damage from Friday night has caused her to relive in her mind what happened to her, her family and their home back in 2011. It's bringing back up long buried anxiety. She will takk herself down but it is still unsettling to her even ten years later.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 12, 2021 21:06:49 GMT -5
With all that warning, its sad they did not call off the shift on duty for the candle factory and the Amazon warehouse. I wonder how bad the nightmares are going to be for those who survived it, but had to be pulled out. In 2011 an EF-3 tornado struck Springfield, Massachusetts where I was born and raised. The tornado did a lot of damage including destroying the high school I attended in the '60s. A Facebook friend of mine still lives in Springfield and at the time of the tornado lived in her home which was across a small pond from my high school. My friend's home was heavily damaged by the tornado. She was home at the time it struck. She has been posting on Facebook the severe storms, death and damage from Friday night has caused her to relive in her mind what happened to her, her family and their home back in 2011. It's bringing back up long buried anxiety. She will takk herself down but it is still unsettling to her even ten years later. Wow, that's tough.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 13, 2021 11:46:01 GMT -5
Per GF, one of the Amazon workers who died was told not to leave. www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amazon-worker-killed-in-warehouse-collapse-wasn-t-allowed-to-leave-when-the-tornado-approached-girlfriend-says/ar-AARLcZi?ocid=msedgntpThe girlfriend of one of the employees told the New York Post he was told to stay as the tornado approached.
Cherie Jones said Larry Virden would have made it home if he'd left when he wanted to.
Virden's girlfriend, Cherie Jones, told the Post in an article published Sunday that she was texting him shortly before.
"He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back … I was like 'OK, I love you.' He's like, 'well Amazon won't let me leave until after the storm blows over,'" she told the Post.
Jones told the Post that Virden texted her 16 minutes before the tornado was said to have touched down. She said this was enough time to get back to their house in nearby Collinsville, which she said was a 13-minute drive away.
"We heard the tornado didn't touch down until 8:39 so he had 20 minutes to get home," she told the Post.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Dec 13, 2021 13:12:05 GMT -5
Additionally at lest at the Amazon distribution center (and all Amazon distribution centers), non-management employees are not allowed to carry their cell phone on their person while working. Cell phones must be left in their vehicles or stored in their work lockers. Their family and friends had no way to phone them of any impending danger. And I imagine there were no tornado shelters within these facilities. Just cavernous buildings with no where to hide. Not really a reply to Tenn... just the situation he brings up. I'm pretty sure Amazon and the Candle Factory were required to have some sort of emergency intercom or warning system in the buildings. Employees should NOT have to rely on their loved ones to communicate emergency situations to them. If it's determined the Amazon warehouse had insufficient or poorly placed sheltering areas in the warehouse... It will be interesting to see if there are changes to how and where tornado shelters are provided to large warehouse type buildings currently sprouting up like weeds in Tornado Alley states. I'm guessing tornado/fire/active shooter procedures (what to do, where to go, what's a dangerous thing to do what's a safer thing to do are part of the responsibility of the employer to communicate to their employees. I'm guess tornado/fire/active shooter drills are also part of the yearly "routine" for employer and employees. I'm also guessing it's REALLY hard to get employees to comply with the drills. People aren't all that interested in participating (or knowing where the exits are....) or they just "know" what to do (watch a lot of TV and Movies) or maybe "that won't ever happen - this is a waste of time". When we moved into our new "state of the art" high rise building - my employer had mandatory fire/emergency drills every 3 months for 18 months in an effort to get 100% compliance and to get employees to learn what to do in the case of an emergency. It was an uphill battle. It got to the point that there were raffles (if you participated) of "money" you could use to buy a free lunch or coffee in the company cafe... all sorts of stuff to get people to comply. A lot of people pooh poohed the drills. WE even got threatened with the quarterly drills would continue as long as people refused to go along with it. What it really took was this: a nearby high rise office building - during working hours had a small fire office which caused the deaths of 4 people because they either didn't know what to do (and made a bad choice of action) OR they decided NOT to follow the instructions for what to do. They opted to go up the stairwell rather than down the stairwell. Their older building did not have the safety feature to unlock ALL the stairwell doors in the building when the fire alarms went off (or when the power failed) AND they did not know this (probably because they didn't bother with the fire drills). Pretty common way for the stairwell doors to work in older buildings (this is slowly going away as buildings are forced to retrofit or upgrade). Perhaps they thought they could exit the stairwell at a higher floor. They couldn't. They then kept going up - thinking they could exit to the roof (that's a movie/tv thing - not a real life thing - atleast for the buildings in my city) - but that too was restricted access (as it is in about 99% of high rise buildings in my city). They died in the stairwell. If at any point they had opted to go DOWN they might have had a chance to survive. Knowledge is power and life saving. I have worked in an older high rise building and the fire drill instructions were very clear that once you were in the stairwell the ONLY exit was at the first floor. It was a one way trip DOWN the stairwell - no other exits. Only at the first floor. So, I'm guessing the four who died didn't know this about their building Newer buildings and retro fitted buildings don't work that way (stairwell doors unlock)... but you can't assume.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Dec 13, 2021 13:21:50 GMT -5
Per GF, one of the Amazon workers who died was told not to leave. www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amazon-worker-killed-in-warehouse-collapse-wasn-t-allowed-to-leave-when-the-tornado-approached-girlfriend-says/ar-AARLcZi?ocid=msedgntpThe girlfriend of one of the employees told the New York Post he was told to stay as the tornado approached.
Cherie Jones said Larry Virden would have made it home if he'd left when he wanted to.
Virden's girlfriend, Cherie Jones, told the Post in an article published Sunday that she was texting him shortly before.
"He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back … I was like 'OK, I love you.' He's like, 'well Amazon won't let me leave until after the storm blows over,'" she told the Post.
Jones told the Post that Virden texted her 16 minutes before the tornado was said to have touched down. She said this was enough time to get back to their house in nearby Collinsville, which she said was a 13-minute drive away.
"We heard the tornado didn't touch down until 8:39 so he had 20 minutes to get home," she told the Post.Not replying to Opti -- but to the situation. This is sad. But it's not a reason to not shelter in place (especially when there should have been shelter). He could have gone home and died there with his girlfriend if the tornado took a slightly different path. What if he couldn't get home because wires were down or too much traffic or a tree blocked the road ways.... he would have been in his vehicle when the tornado hit. The issue is that perhaps there weren't good enough tornado shelters at the Amazon Warehouse - or - if there were shelters, the employees didn't know (or choose) to use them.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 13, 2021 13:44:13 GMT -5
Per GF, one of the Amazon workers who died was told not to leave. www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amazon-worker-killed-in-warehouse-collapse-wasn-t-allowed-to-leave-when-the-tornado-approached-girlfriend-says/ar-AARLcZi?ocid=msedgntpThe girlfriend of one of the employees told the New York Post he was told to stay as the tornado approached.
Cherie Jones said Larry Virden would have made it home if he'd left when he wanted to.
Virden's girlfriend, Cherie Jones, told the Post in an article published Sunday that she was texting him shortly before.
"He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back … I was like 'OK, I love you.' He's like, 'well Amazon won't let me leave until after the storm blows over,'" she told the Post.
Jones told the Post that Virden texted her 16 minutes before the tornado was said to have touched down. She said this was enough time to get back to their house in nearby Collinsville, which she said was a 13-minute drive away.
"We heard the tornado didn't touch down until 8:39 so he had 20 minutes to get home," she told the Post.Not replying to Opti -- but to the situation. This is sad. But it's not a reason to not shelter in place (especially when there should have been shelter). He could have gone home and died there with his girlfriend if the tornado took a slightly different path. What if he couldn't get home because wires were down or too much traffic or a tree blocked the road ways.... he would have been in his vehicle when the tornado hit. The issue is that perhaps there weren't good enough tornado shelters at the Amazon Warehouse - or - if there were shelters, the employees didn't know (or choose) to use them. Not replying to Tiny -- but to the situation. I was once driving to Rock Hill, South Carolina from Memphis, TN. About three fourths through Tennessee on I-40, a local radio station announce there was an active tornado warning for the area. I pulled over to the side of the highway to sit it out until cleared. Plus I had a good vantage point to spot any tornadoes heading my way. The local radio station took a call from a woman who said she put her and her daughter in her car and drove about ten miles to her husband's place of work. The radio DJ, after getting off the phone with the caller, said it was not a good idea to drive any great distance to escape a tornado especially if you have a zero view chance of spotting the tornado and possibly drive right into it. Better to find safe shelter much closer to home or even take shelter in your home.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 13, 2021 13:47:59 GMT -5
The good news about the candle factory collapse is the death count is much lower than originally thought. Only six died as opposed to much more thought to have died earlier yesterday.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 14, 2021 11:35:59 GMT -5
And the stupid begins... Alex Jones Wonders If Joe Biden Used 'Weather Weapons' To Cause Deadly TornadoesThe "Infowars" conspiracy theorist said it was "a legitimate question to ask." As states in the South and Midwest pick up the pieces left by a series of deadly and devastating storms Friday night and early Saturday, “Infowars” host Alex Jones is already spinning conspiracy theories to try to blame it on President Joe Biden. Jones, who recently lost a fourth lawsuit over his lies that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax, told listeners on “The Alex Jones Show” on Monday that the U.S. government developed “weather weapons” in the 1950s. He cited a talk from former CIA Director John Brennan as supposed evidence of the existence of secret government “geoengineering systems.” In Brennan’s speech, delivered at a 2016 Council on Foreign Relations event, he discussed the geopolitical risks of geoengineering the climate and the costs and benefits of using it as a potential tool against climate change. “So, they just think you’re stupid and they don’t want you knowing they are doing all of this,” Jones said on his show, claiming these systems would explain “why plants and animals were so much bigger and healthier. But we’ve adapted to live in less air.” Some researchers have discussed geoengineering as a way to reverse climate change by affecting weather and climate patterns with methods like removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or increasing the reflectivity of the Earth. Though the concept is a source of legitimate debate, it’s at the root of a number of conspiracy theories, the followers of which believe that these practices are already being carried out in secret so the government can control the weather. There is no evidence that this is the case. Rest of article here: Alex Jones Wonders If Joe Biden Used 'Weather Weapons' To Cause Deadly Tornadoes
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ken a.k.a OMK
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They killed Kenny, the bastards.
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Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Dec 14, 2021 12:14:22 GMT -5
He is one nut case. Too bad he has followers.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Dec 14, 2021 17:06:06 GMT -5
The fact that anyone who believes that nutcase has the intelligence to breath air is shocking. Maybe we should have to pass an intelligence test to vote.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Dec 14, 2021 17:18:55 GMT -5
Are the Jews not willing to share their space lasers?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2021 19:47:58 GMT -5
I am angry about the injuries and deaths at the candle factory and at Amazon. Additionally at lest at the Amazon distribution center (and all Amazon distribution centers), non-management employees are not allowed to carry their cell phone on their person while working. Cell phones must be left in their vehicles or stored in their work lockers. Their family and friends had no way to phone them of any impending danger. And I imagine there were no tornado shelters within these facilities. Just cavernous buildings with no where to hide. We aren’t supposed to have our cell phones while we’re working either. Not long after I started working there, I had an emergency phone call at work. It was a legit emergency. Whoever answered the phone told the caller I didn’t work there. So I keep my cell phone on me. We are supposed to go to the basement if the sirens are going off. Thing is, we have no windows, so we have no idea what’s going on outside. The whole world could be falling apart and we’d never know. And we can’t hear the sirens inside the building over the noise of all the machines. People working outside on the docks can hear the sirens. I can remember at least once when the sirens were going off and management was trying to keep us from going to the basement. They would’ve just had to fire me that day, because I went to the basement like we are supposed to. TF?! I remember another time we were in the basement and a lot of us were trying to check on our families and/or let them know we were ok so far (at that point, nobody was trying to hide their cell phones, we were too worried), and one manager was the only person with a good cell phone signal. He let anyone that wanted to, use his phone to call their families. So we have managers that are crazy assholes, and managers that are decent human beings and have a little sense. I honestly don’t feel all that safe in our basement, but if that’s my only option, that’s where I’m going. If a manager has a problem with that, they can have fun later, explaining to their bosses and my union why it was a problem for me to follow the rules for our building and seek shelter in the basement when the sirens are going off. I do understand that some other employees’ situations are more precarious and they don’t have a union to back them up in a situation like that. I really feel for everyone that was affected by this tornado. Very scary.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Dec 14, 2021 21:30:15 GMT -5
I am angry about the injuries and deaths at the candle factory and at Amazon. Additionally at lest at the Amazon distribution center (and all Amazon distribution centers), non-management employees are not allowed to carry their cell phone on their person while working. Cell phones must be left in their vehicles or stored in their work lockers. Their family and friends had no way to phone them of any impending danger. And I imagine there were no tornado shelters within these facilities. Just cavernous buildings with no where to hide. We aren’t supposed to have our cell phones while we’re working either. Not long after I started working there, I had an emergency phone call at work. It was a legit emergency. Whoever answered the phone told the caller I didn’t work there. So I keep my cell phone on me. We are supposed to go to the basement if the sirens are going off. Thing is, we have no windows, so we have no idea what’s going on outside. The whole world could be falling apart and we’d never know. And we can’t hear the sirens inside the building over the noise of all the machines. People working outside on the docks can hear the sirens. I can remember at least once when the sirens were going off and management was trying to keep us from going to the basement. They would’ve just had to fire me that day, because I went to the basement like we are supposed to. TF?! I remember another time we were in the basement and a lot of us were trying to check on our families and/or let them know we were ok so far (at that point, nobody was trying to hide their cell phones, we were too worried), and one manager was the only person with a good cell phone signal. He let anyone that wanted to, use his phone to call their families. So we have managers that are crazy assholes, and managers that are decent human beings and have a little sense. I honestly don’t feel all that safe in our basement, but if that’s my only option, that’s where I’m going. If a manager has a problem with that, they can have fun later, explaining to their bosses and my union why it was a problem for me to follow the rules for our building and seek shelter in the basement when the sirens are going off. I do understand that some other employees’ situations are more precarious and they don’t have a union to back them up in a situation like that. I really feel for everyone that was affected by this tornado. Very scary. I am okay with non-management employees not having their personal cell phones on their person while on the work floor. But management must be alerted and pass on the alert to the workers that danger is imminent and direct the employees to a safe shelter. And I have been hearing on the news today employees at the candle factory who wanted to leave the factory to head home because a tornado was coming were told by management they would be fired if they left the factory. How did that work out for the factory workers.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 15, 2021 9:28:11 GMT -5
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kentucky-man-rescues-wife-sister-in-law-from-candle-factory-demolished-by-tornado/ar-AARQawr?ocid=msedgntpAn MMA fighter rescued his wife, her sister and others trapped in the Mayfield, Kentucky, candle factory a tornado leveled. "It's a miracle I even found them. I don't know how it happened," Brian Brooks told Fox News.
Then, "I get a phone call," Brooks said.
"It's my wife. She calls and tells me she loves me, that she's trapped, and they're smashed. And she hung up," Brooks told Fox News. "I jumped in the truck and flew to her," Brooks said.
When he got to the factory, it was flattened. "It was like the worst war movie you see on TV. The people that were screaming that you could not see in the dark," Brooks said.
All he knew was that his wife had said she was in the women's bathroom.
Finally, Brooks' sister-in-law, who was smashed on top of his wife, spotted the MMA fighter's "crazy shoes." He said he has footwear in a variety colors.
"She knew it was me ... she started hollering, 'Brian,'" Brooks said.
"I was like, ‘Oh my God,' and started trying to pull," but, the roof, candle wax barrels, bathroom walls, rafters, "everything was on top of them," he told Fox News.
He tried to pry and pull, but the pipes and polls were all too long. Then, "some officers, thank God, they got me a crowbar."
Brooks was eventually able to get them out. His wife and her sister were sent to the hospital.
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gracendignity
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Post by gracendignity on Dec 15, 2021 9:46:41 GMT -5
I live in Mayfield. We had plenty of warning as to the severity of the storm. Many employees at the candle factory had warnings from their phones, from both the NSW and friends and family. Our local station was covering the situation closely, too. so there was time to have let people leave. The company is categorically denying claims made by employees stating they would be fired for leaving. Several ugly stories are coming out about this company. Without getting on my soapbox, just let me say—believe the employees.
I sheltered in my safe place at home and was texting with my daughters throughout. Neither live in Mayfield. At one point the storm was slated to make a direct hit where I live. At the last minute it tracked north by about a mile which is when Mayfield was in the line of fire. I have been in many tornado-type events and while I’m respectful of them, Friday night is the only time I fully expecting to die or be injured. That sounds like hysterics talking, but it’s the God’s honest truth. I’m still amazed that my neighbors and I were spared. I have power back but never lost water. Internet is out for quite awhile longer but that’s scarcely worth mentioning! My hometown is destroyed in the downtown. Historic buildings are demolished or severely damaged. I saw a bit of it Sunday and the videos don’t hold a candle to seeing it in person.
it’s a blue eyed miracle that the death toll is not higher. From what I am hearing Mayfield is the town receiving the most attention but many, many other towns are in bad shape, too. I am a constant reader but very rare poster. I have WiFi while my van is being worked on—because OF COURSE that happens now. Lol—and saw this thread and felt the need to say something.
And FWIW, I’m a big fan of Governor Beshear, too. His fans affectionally call him Uncle Andy. Lol!
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Dec 15, 2021 15:05:42 GMT -5
With all that warning, its sad they did not call off the shift on duty for the candle factory and the Amazon warehouse. I wonder how bad the nightmares are going to be for those who survived it, but had to be pulled out. The candle factory workers wanted to go home and shelter there. They were told that if the went home they'd be fired. Now they're dead and I really hope the families of the dead sue.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Dec 15, 2021 16:40:12 GMT -5
With all that warning, its sad they did not call off the shift on duty for the candle factory and the Amazon warehouse. I wonder how bad the nightmares are going to be for those who survived it, but had to be pulled out. The candle factory workers wanted to go home and shelter there. They were told that if the went home they'd be fired. Now they're dead and I really hope the families of the dead sue. One of the stories I read was awful. A 50 yr old woman went to work at the candle factory because she wanted to make enough money for grandkid presents. She knew if she didn't go, she would not get more shifts before Christmas. She's dead, but her 64 yr old husband wasn 't on that night, so he's alive. Christmas presents aren't worth potential death or serious injury to me. Sad. At least it might be for the Amazon factory those who died sheltered in the wrong spot.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Dec 15, 2021 16:51:01 GMT -5
Why wasn't the last shift cancelled? It is completely irresponsible to be asking employees to show up for a shift when the roads will likely be impassible after the shift ends. C'mon guys, we do this for heavy snowfall all of the time.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Dec 15, 2021 16:54:40 GMT -5
Question for those in the area. Do houses generally have basements? I know some areas don't usually have houses with basements because they aren't usually needed. Did the candle factory not have one? Did that factor into the deaths as well?
Here in the Midwest where tornadoes are normal, it's unusual for a house not to have one. Most businesses have floors underground too.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Dec 15, 2021 16:59:17 GMT -5
I'm guessing that the unexpectedly low death toll was due to a whole lot of the replacing shift not being there even though the storm hit right around shift change. It is easier to refuse to drive to work during a tornado watch or a tornado warning than it is to convince your boss to cancel the rest of the shift.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2021 17:11:07 GMT -5
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kentucky-man-rescues-wife-sister-in-law-from-candle-factory-demolished-by-tornado/ar-AARQawr?ocid=msedgntpAn MMA fighter rescued his wife, her sister and others trapped in the Mayfield, Kentucky, candle factory a tornado leveled. "It's a miracle I even found them. I don't know how it happened," Brian Brooks told Fox News.
Then, "I get a phone call," Brooks said.
"It's my wife. She calls and tells me she loves me, that she's trapped, and they're smashed. And she hung up," Brooks told Fox News. "I jumped in the truck and flew to her," Brooks said.
When he got to the factory, it was flattened. "It was like the worst war movie you see on TV. The people that were screaming that you could not see in the dark," Brooks said.
All he knew was that his wife had said she was in the women's bathroom.
Finally, Brooks' sister-in-law, who was smashed on top of his wife, spotted the MMA fighter's "crazy shoes." He said he has footwear in a variety colors.
"She knew it was me ... she started hollering, 'Brian,'" Brooks said.
"I was like, ‘Oh my God,' and started trying to pull," but, the roof, candle wax barrels, bathroom walls, rafters, "everything was on top of them," he told Fox News.
He tried to pry and pull, but the pipes and polls were all too long. Then, "some officers, thank God, they got me a crowbar."
Brooks was eventually able to get them out. His wife and her sister were sent to the hospital. That’s an awesome story. I guess I love it so much because he didn’t just stand around wringing his hands, waiting for somebody to do something, he went to try to find his wife himself. I’m happy that he didn’t walk up on something even worse than them being trapped, but alive. Thanks for sharing that.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2021 17:20:45 GMT -5
Question for those in the area. Do houses generally have basements? I know some areas don't usually have houses with basements because they aren't usually needed. Did the candle factory not have one? Did that factor into the deaths as well? Here in the Midwest where tornadoes are normal, it's unusual for a house not to have one. Most businesses have floors underground too. We get tornadoes here, there was a lot of concern in our area for what might happen that night. I can literally only think of one person I’ve ever known that had a basement in their house. They are definitely not common here. We have a basement in the building I work in, but our other facilities don’t have basements. I don’t think it’s very common for businesses to have basements. I was in a Home Depot once when the sirens went off and they herded everyone to the back of the store where the employee break rooms were. IIRC, the reason we don’t have skyscrapers and such in our downtown area has something to do with the soil. The ground won’t support that kind of weight or something. Maybe that has something to do with the lack of basements too, I have no idea. Or maybe builders here just never saw a need for basements in this area.
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