May 6, 2024, Dashcam video shot on April 26 showed the moment a powerful tornado destroyed a building in Lincoln, Nebraska during a deadly, multi-state outbreak of severe storms. The building, hit by the twister carrying winds as high as 158 m/ph (254 km/h), belonged to Garner Industries. According to local media, there were dozens of workers still inside as the tornado struck, but all survived the incident.
Why don’t workplace buildings have a tornado shelter built into the building?
In December 2021, an EF-3 tornado ripped through an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, killing six employees. To the chagrin of community members, the international online retailer didn’t have a storm shelter on site for the 1.1 million square foot building and said it has no plans to build one in the future. Why won’t they build a shelter? Because they don’t have to. Surprisingly, state and federal regulations don’t require storm shelters or safe rooms. Unfortunately, many businesses deem tornado protection to be a cost-prohibitive luxury not covered by standard operating expenses. While corporations might be correct in their assessment of federal regulations, these don’t resonate with ethics and common sense. Investing in an industrial tornado shelter engenders goodwill within the communities they serve while boosting employee morale. After all, would you want to work for a company that doesn’t value worker safety?
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