Edwardsville, IL, tornado before and after photos. (FOX Weather)EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Federal investigators are ordering Amazon to review its severe weather procedures after a tornado outbreak in December was responsible for the partial collapse of a warehouse outside of St.
Louis, Missouri, that killed six contractors.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the retailer’s severe weather emergency procedures met the minimal federal safety guidelines, but there are steps the company could take to further protect workers and drivers.The National Weather Service provided sufficient warning for December’s EF-3 tornado, but an OSHA report stated workers did not recall where the designated severe weather shelter was located in the Edwardsville, Illinois facility.Additionally, investigators found a megaphone used to announce shelter-in-place procedures was locked in a cage, and personnel couldn’t recall participating in severe weather drills.A federal inspection letter states several of the workers killed at the facility, took shelter in a restroom near the loading docks, which was not the designated safety room.
NWS meteorologists estimated winds of the twister to be around 155 mph when it decimated parts of the warehouse.Safety personnel and first responders survey a damaged Amazon Distribution Center on Dec.
11, 2021 in Edwardsville, Illinois. ( Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)The company responded to the report with a statement that read: "The storm in Edwardsville last fall was a tragedy and our teams on the ground continue to support our employees and the broader community as they work to recover.