It’s tornado season: Is your severe weather plan up to date?

After a tornado fatally injured six contractors sheltering in place in an Illinois warehouse, an OSHA investigation revealed gaps in the company’s emergency action plan. While investigators ultimately determined that the company’s severe weather emergency procedures met minimal federal safety guidelines for storm sheltering, the agency stated that the company should make improvements to further protect workers in future emergencies:

1. Ensure that all employees – including vendors and contractors – receive training and participate in emergency weather drills;
2. Include site-specific information in severe weather emergency plans; and
3. Clearly identify all audible warning devices and their locations in the severe weather emergency plan and ensure they’re readily accessible.

Tornadoes pose a threat throughout the year

Most tornadoes in the U.S. occur during the spring and summer months, although favorable conditions for tornadoes can develop at any time of year. (The tornado in our example occurred in early December.) And while they can happen at any time of day or night, most tornadoes occur between 4-9 PM.

A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop, while a tornado warning means a tornado has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. In the event of a warning, there is a serious threat to life and property to those in the path of the tornado.

What to do

To prepare for a tornado, businesses should develop a severe weather emergency plan that includes details on suitable places to take shelter, policies to ensure all personnel are accounted for, and procedures for addressing any hazardous materials that are on-site. Hazards beyond conditions involving a fire, any applicable exit route, exit door, shelter-in-place, or any other emergency plan guidance, should be identified in the written plan. Communicate the plan to employees so they know where to take shelter in the event of a tornado.

The safest place to be is an underground shelter or basement. If these aren’t available, a small, windowless interior room or hallway on the lowest level of a sturdy building is the safest alternative.

If employees are caught outdoors, they should seek shelter in a sturdy building if possible. If not, they should lie flat and face-down on low ground (as far away from trees and cars as possible), protecting the back of their head with their arms.

Employees, contractors, and vendors should receive training and participate in drills associated with the layout of the facility, warning and alert methods, and severe weather shelter locations.

Disaster recovery

Employees may face significant hazards – including the potential for additional storms, sharp debris, and downed power lines – as the company takes steps to recover from the tornado. They also should be aware of heat stress hazards and hazards from equipment used during response/recovery operations, such as portable generators.