Member-only story
What r/antiwork keeps getting wrong about tornado safety
AKA why you shouldn’t always listen to randos on the internet
The United States is the tornado capital of the world. It also has the strongest and most violent ones. Even the smallest tornado, an EF1, has wind speeds greater than 86mph. That’s more than some Cat 1 hurricanes. The strongest, EF5s, blow in excess of 200mph. Cat 5 hurricanes, for comparison, have wind speeds above 157mph.
Tornados contain the fastest and most devastating winds on the planet. Period.
In December 2021, an EF3 tornado (136–165mph) hit an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL, and killed six employees. Eight people died the same night in another tornado that hit a candle factory in Kentucky.
Immediately, the subreddit r/antiwork exploded with outrage. For those who don’t know, antiwork is a movement for better working conditions across America and beyond. The members—and I’m one—believe in a living wage, a sustainable work/life balance, and fair treatment for everybody in the workplace. The news of people dying in the middle of the night while toiling away in Amazon’s notorious warehouses was met with outrage.
It was also met with a fair amount of armchair quarterbacking from people who’ve clearly never lived in an active tornado…
