I worked retail for years and I don't remember any plan we had in case of a tornado

I've been thinking about this all week. One of the most horrible stories from the Joplin tornado is the Home Depot store where a lot of people died at the front door. They think they were rushing to get out and were crushed when the front of the store collapsed.

So now I wonder - how safe are any of these big box stores in a tornado? Do they have an emergency plan?

I remember when I worked in a big store we had a fire evacuation plan but nothing for tornadoes.

Those stores are usually just great big mobile homes - look at the wreckage:

I hadn't heard.

He said they found "multiple" victims at the front door. They were crushed by concrete supports on the front of the store. And the really creepy thing is that some of the merchandise was still on the shelves and the aisles were clear. So they may have survived if they had stayed inside the store.

The only reason I can think of for them trying to go out instead of moving farther in is if someone told them the tall shelves with building supplies would fall on them.

led everyone to the back of the store and no one was hurt.

Or Lowes herded customers into the rest rooms? That was the only part of that building that did not collapse and the smaller areas at the back were the safest place to be.

As for the Joplin Home Depot, one interview I saw yesterday had a rescue person who said people in the parking lot of the store ran into the store when they realized there was a tornado and huddled up against the front wall. They would not have been safer outside or in their vehicles and may not have had time to try to get to the rear of the store.

I'm having nightmares over this Home Depot in Joplin.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/regional/Obama-calls-NC-store-manager-who-saved-100-lives-120191894.html

SANFORD, N.C. (AP) -- President Barack Obama has called the manager of a Sanford home improvement store who managed to get 100 people safely to the back of the store as a tornado ripped the roof off the building.

A press release from the White House said Obama expressed his gratitude Monday to Lowe's store manager Michael Hollowell for his swift action Saturday that likely saved lives.
...
Hollowell has deflected praise for his actions, saying he was simply following his company's safety plans.

I just made a mental note that if I am ever in a mega-store in severe weather to head to the bathrooms! It's too bad the old civil defense plans seem to have been totally abandoned, even in these "post 9/11" days. When I was a kid during the Cuban missile crisis we were all taught which buildings near our schools and our homes were designated shelters. Buildings had clear markings as civil defense shelters so if you were in a strange town or neighborhood you could easily locate them.



Thirty five years ago I experienced a failure in emergency plans. I was a student at Florida State University, living in an decrepit house near campu. A hurricane was moving in, making a direct hit on Tallahassee. Several of us who were library science students made plans to ride out the storm in Strozier Library. Some, like me, lived in some of the old, poorly maintained houses near campus. One woman lived 45 miles away in a mobile home and was not only concerned about trying to get home but did not want to try get through the storm in her house.

The library was normally open twenty four hours a day and still had the civil defense shelter signs up on the building, with emergency plan placards posted in the lobby. But some brilliant university official decided to close the building AFTER the storm's outer bands were crossing the campus. They herded the 30 or so students and employees who had planned to take shelter out into the 40-60 mph winds and torrential rains. I took the woman who lived far away back to the house where I lived and we huddled in the house, watching the windows "breathe" as the winds rocked the old building.

No one lost their lives due to being evicted from what was marked as an emergency shelter, but we were lucky.

With the number of natural disasters that have happened in recent years and the claims of possible terrorist attacks that have been trumpeted why has there not been an evaluation of buildings for use as emergency shelters?

What plans??

MO when I was in Elementary school (7) but I still remember tornado drills where we had to go into the hall, duck and cover. I also remember being told to find lower levels, cellars and basements preferably or inside small areas with walls if I heard the tornado siren. I would hope they are still teaching kids this and that it would stay with them as much as it has with me. The same lessons would transfer to things like big box stores.

They herd us to the back of the store, in the Crafts and Electronics department.

I prefer to go into the bathrooms at the back of the store.

when I was in K-Mart buying cleaning stuff for my new rental. It was all new to me since I'd never lived in a tornado-prone area -- I have to admit I didn't pay much attention. BUT I had just finished checking out when the sirens went off. Suddenly I appeared to be alone in the store -- everyone had disappeared! I learned later that when the sirens go off, all staff were instructed to quickly close out of their registers if they were at them and everyone was to go to the center of the store. Apparently the seasoned shoppers knew that too, since I was virtually alone in the front of the store.

I worked in a hospital -- the staff had patients moved into the hallways in a jiffy -- all of the rooms had big windows. I had no idea WTF was going on the first time it happened!

this week. Sirens went off and we, too, brought all the patients out into the hall, along with their beds if they were bedbound. Kept them out there for almost 3 hours, necessary equpment and all (beds, IV poles, portable O2 tanks, etc...).

It was pretty surreal because we just kept on doing what needed to be done, handing out pills and shots. I grabbed a sheet and held it around a patient because he had to use his urinal and even the hall bathroom that most of them have to use has windows so it's not like were were gonna let anyone into the bathroom for those 3 hours of tornado sightings and sirens that were happening near the hospital.

I think the video/pics of the destroyed Joplin hospital was still fresh in all of our minds.

Then the softball and bigger hail started to come down and we were all pretty sure our cars were damaged but amazingly none were.

furthest from the windows.

We didn't have a written plan, but what to do was obvious. We were going to get people into the bathrooms and if we had to, take the milk out of the walk in fridge (even if the door closed you could open it from the inside).

The store management clearly had a proceedure.

They herded everyone to the center of the store (I ignored their orders and led my family to the back, next to the rest rooms and the coolers).

The tornado missed the building but the hail pounded my car. The hail on the metal roof was insanely loud.

and yes, there is a tornado/severe weather plan. There is also a weather radio with an automatic alert at the customer service desk.

Oh Shiiiit!

but he does work in one of those giant steel buildings. He manages a kennel and doggie daycare place. He drew up a tornado and severe thunderstorm evac plan, and they had to use it the other night. There are offices in the middle of the building between the brick upper level and the steel warehouse, sunken level. All the dogs go in there with the humans. Cats go in carriers and go with the dogs.
Surprisingly, everything went smoothly the other day. Not one dog spazzed out, even when the hail got very loud on the roof.
The tornado skirted about a mile and a half north of his location.