These are the details, as much as we know them: On Friday night, 22 reported tornadoes traveled across Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. At least three EF-3 tornados hit populated areas with wind speeds between 136 and 165mph. At approximately 8:35pm Edwardsville time, the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-3 approaching from the west touched down at 3077 Gateway Commerce Center Drive East. Upon responding, the Edwardsville Fire Department found that approximately 150 yards of the building “had been collapsed,” according to Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford. The 3077 Gateway Commerce Center building is a 1.1 million square foot delivery station, opened about a year and a half ago. As of Whiteford’s briefing, 45 workers who were in the building at the time of the impact made it out of the building safely. One person had to be airlifted to a regional hospital for treatment. There were also six fatalities. Search operations are ongoing, which means there are still workers unaccounted for (and presumed dead). Jeff Bezos apparently took some time to respond to the disaster, posting about Blue Origin (his rocket company) before acknowledging the loss of life in Edwardsville. He did post an appropriate response soon after: There was a tornado warning, and workers did shelter in a more fortified area. Unfortunately, according to the New York Times, that area was directly hit by the tornado and did not survive the impact. More details of the situation will become apparent in the coming months. These workers have quite literally kept us alive. But they have been so important to so many of us, and their work has meant so very much. It’s heartbreaking to learn of the devastation at the 3077 Gateway Commerce Center. Our thoughts and well wishes also go out to all the other tornado victims across the country from this devastating weekend. You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
