Tornado Safety at Work

Employer Responsibilities

1. Identify Safe Locations

Every workplace should have identified tornado shelter locations. Ideal criteria:

• Interior location, away from all windows
• Lowest available floor of the building
• Small rooms (bathrooms, small offices, storage closets)
• Away from large open spaces (warehouses, showrooms)
• Structurally reinforced areas if available

2. Communication System

Establish protocols for:

• Monitoring weather - designated staff person during severe weather
• Alerting employees - PA system, sirens, all-hands text alerts
• Verifying all employees have taken shelter - roll call by department

3. Regular Drills

Best practice: quarterly tornado drills, with additional drills before peak season (April-June). Time each drill and review with staff.

4. Written Emergency Plan

OSHA requires most employers to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). Include tornado response with:

• Shelter locations by department
• Chain of command during emergencies
• Roles for floor wardens, department leads
• Post-tornado protocols (accounting for staff, reporting injuries)

Employee Responsibilities

Know Your Building's Shelter Location

Before a warning fires. Ask on your first day. Don't wait for the emergency.

Take Warnings Seriously

Do not ignore tornado warnings because you're at work. Move to shelter immediately, not "after you finish this email."

Assist Others

Help colleagues with mobility limitations reach shelter. Check bathrooms, meeting rooms, and common areas for people who may not have heard the warning.

Stay in Shelter Until All-Clear

Do not leave shelter early. Multi-tornado outbreaks are common - additional warnings may follow.

Industry-Specific Considerations

Manufacturing/Warehouses

Large open production floors are especially dangerous during tornadoes. Interior offices, break rooms, and bathrooms are the safest shelter options.

Consider retrofitting a reinforced tornado shelter in the middle of the facility if the workforce is large.

Retail Stores

Chain stores (Walmart, Target, grocery stores) typically have designated employee-only shelter locations - often in bathrooms or interior break rooms. Customers may need to shelter in the same areas.

Retail managers should announce shelter locations over the PA when warnings fire.

Offices

High-rise office buildings: move to the lowest possible interior floor. Do not use elevators during warnings. Consider stairwells as shelter if they're windowless.

Healthcare Facilities

Hospitals cannot fully evacuate. Move mobile patients to interior corridors on lower floors. Non-mobile patients: shift beds away from windows, close curtains and doors. Every hospital should have well-rehearsed tornado protocols.

Schools

See tornado safety at school →

Construction Sites

Extremely vulnerable. Cease outdoor work at first warning. Move to permanent buildings (site trailers do not qualify as safe shelter).

Notable Workplace Tornado Events

• Joplin 2011 Home Depot - store took a direct hit, employees sheltered but structure failed
• Mayfield 2021 candle factory - 8 workers killed when building collapsed
• Edwardsville, IL Amazon warehouse (December 10, 2021) - 6 killed in roof collapse
• Wrangler jeans distribution center, Hackleburg 2011 - completely destroyed
• Cooper Pants Factory, Gainesville 1936 - 70 workers killed

Legal Considerations

Employers have a general duty to provide safe workplaces (OSHA). Failure to have reasonable tornado protocols can result in liability if employees are killed or injured during warnings.

Some states have specific requirements for tornado planning in schools, hospitals, and childcare facilities.

Insurance for Businesses

Commercial insurance should cover tornado damage to property and business interruption. Review your policy annually for:

• Wind/hail deductibles (often higher for tornado-prone states)
• Business interruption coverage limits
• Off-premises property coverage
• Employee injury coverage