Amazon warehouse where 6 died is nearly rebuilt but won’t have storm shelter

The Amazon warehouse where six employees died in a tornado a year ago Saturday is nearly rebuilt.

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Friday there’s “a lot of emotion tied up this weekend” remembering what happened.

“It's just a really sad, somber time,” she said. While Amazon leadership doesn't know exactly when the new warehouse will open, Nantel said it won’t have a shelter. Critics questioned why the old warehouse didn’t have better safety measures and wanted changes in the new one.

Federal guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and local building codes don’t require a shelter, Nantel said. Instead, she said Amazon is taking other steps to keep employees safe such as training them on how to respond to extreme weather, and it hired a meteorologist.

“We want to go above and beyond in the areas that we have the most control over and the most confidence that they would make a difference,” Nantel said. “And so, while that building is not being built with a storm shelter, that doesn't mean that conversations aren't being had.”