Before-and-after satellite images show destruction of candle factory
The images showing the utter devastation to the candle factory hit by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, are shocking. Satellite images also show the extent of damage at the Amazon warehouse that was hit in Illinois.
By
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 12, 2021 7:34 AM EDT
|
Updated Dec 14, 2021 6:28 AM EDT
A tornado outbreak that tore through parts of the southern U.S. and Midwest on Friday into Saturday resulted in devastation and loss of life across several states -- and left an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, and a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, both full of workers when the storms hit, completely in ruins.
The Amazon warehouse is located near St. Louis in Edwardsville, Illinois. Fire chief James Whiteford said the tornado hit the warehouse around 8:38 p.m., local time. The winds were so powerful the roof of the warehouse was ripped off before the entire building collapsed. Workers in the warehouse were forced to make do with whatever form of shelter they could find, some hiding in a bathroom for safety.
"People had to think on their feet quick," Alexander Bird, who works in a nearby warehouse, told Reuters.
On Saturday, six employees in the factory were confirmed dead while at least 45 made it out safely. According to Reuters, authorities in the area have since given up hope of finding any remaining survivors in the rubble, and have shifted their rescue efforts to a recovery mission. The news outlet reports that the recovery mission is expected to last days.
Satellite images obtained from Maxar Technologies showed the extend of the damage the tornado caused to the enormous warehouse. Images showed that about half of the structure was destroyed by the storm.
The Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois that was heavily damaged by a tornado on December 10, 2020 (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)
Amazon did not have an exact count on the number of employees working at the time of the tornado's strike, so it is unclear how many people are still missing.
"Everyone assumes they will be safe at work," said Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. "We don't think that they will never come home."
Along with the Amazon warehouse, workers in a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, were also sent running for cover when one of the tornadoes in the outbreak made a beeline for their workplace.
Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, located in Mayfield, Kentucky, was in the middle of a holiday rush of orders when the hit occurred. According to CNN, the factory was functioning "24/7" to meet the demand of the holidays, and 100 workers were inside when the tornado tore into it.
(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)
Similar images obtained from Maxar Technologies showed that the entire factory was leveled by the storm.
The factory was not the only destruction the town of Mayfield faced. Debris from destroyed buildings, ripped up trees, twisted metal sheets, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles filled the streets and yards of the town following the devastating outbreak. Kyanna Parsons-Perez was one of the employees in the building when it collapsed. She and other employees had to ride out the rest of the severe weather in a storm shelter.
"The next thing you know, there was like a little gust of wind," Parsons-Perez told CNN. The workers inside started to feel the building rocking, "then boom, everything fell on us."
Parsons-Perez was hit in the head by something and ended up pinned under a water fountain. As she began to lose feeling in her toes she panicked and decided to go live on Facebook as a plea for help.
"I don't know who's watching," she said on Facebook Live. "Y'all please send us some help. We are trapped. The wall is stuck on me. Nobody can get to us. Y'all. Pray for us. Try and get somebody to help us."
Parsons-Perez was able to eventually be rescued from five feet of rubble.
As of Monday, all workers inside the candle factory except for the eight who died were accounted for.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Severe Weather
Before-and-after satellite images show destruction of candle factory
The images showing the utter devastation to the candle factory hit by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, are shocking. Satellite images also show the extent of damage at the Amazon warehouse that was hit in Illinois.
By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 12, 2021 7:34 AM EDT | Updated Dec 14, 2021 6:28 AM EDT
A tornado outbreak that tore through parts of the southern U.S. and Midwest on Friday into Saturday resulted in devastation and loss of life across several states -- and left an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, and a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, both full of workers when the storms hit, completely in ruins.
The Amazon warehouse is located near St. Louis in Edwardsville, Illinois. Fire chief James Whiteford said the tornado hit the warehouse around 8:38 p.m., local time. The winds were so powerful the roof of the warehouse was ripped off before the entire building collapsed. Workers in the warehouse were forced to make do with whatever form of shelter they could find, some hiding in a bathroom for safety.
"People had to think on their feet quick," Alexander Bird, who works in a nearby warehouse, told Reuters.
On Saturday, six employees in the factory were confirmed dead while at least 45 made it out safely. According to Reuters, authorities in the area have since given up hope of finding any remaining survivors in the rubble, and have shifted their rescue efforts to a recovery mission. The news outlet reports that the recovery mission is expected to last days.
Satellite images obtained from Maxar Technologies showed the extend of the damage the tornado caused to the enormous warehouse. Images showed that about half of the structure was destroyed by the storm.
The Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois that was heavily damaged by a tornado on December 10, 2020 (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)
Amazon did not have an exact count on the number of employees working at the time of the tornado's strike, so it is unclear how many people are still missing.
"Everyone assumes they will be safe at work," said Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. "We don't think that they will never come home."
Along with the Amazon warehouse, workers in a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, were also sent running for cover when one of the tornadoes in the outbreak made a beeline for their workplace.
Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, located in Mayfield, Kentucky, was in the middle of a holiday rush of orders when the hit occurred. According to CNN, the factory was functioning "24/7" to meet the demand of the holidays, and 100 workers were inside when the tornado tore into it.
(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)
Similar images obtained from Maxar Technologies showed that the entire factory was leveled by the storm.
The factory was not the only destruction the town of Mayfield faced. Debris from destroyed buildings, ripped up trees, twisted metal sheets, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles filled the streets and yards of the town following the devastating outbreak. Kyanna Parsons-Perez was one of the employees in the building when it collapsed. She and other employees had to ride out the rest of the severe weather in a storm shelter.
"The next thing you know, there was like a little gust of wind," Parsons-Perez told CNN. The workers inside started to feel the building rocking, "then boom, everything fell on us."
Parsons-Perez was hit in the head by something and ended up pinned under a water fountain. As she began to lose feeling in her toes she panicked and decided to go live on Facebook as a plea for help.
"I don't know who's watching," she said on Facebook Live. "Y'all please send us some help. We are trapped. The wall is stuck on me. Nobody can get to us. Y'all. Pray for us. Try and get somebody to help us."
Parsons-Perez was able to eventually be rescued from five feet of rubble.
As of Monday, all workers inside the candle factory except for the eight who died were accounted for.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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