Update To December Tornadoes: Mayfield Candle Factory Won't Reopen; Lawsuit Against Amazon

Destroyed candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky after the 
huge December tornado. Company officials announced they
won't rebuild in Mayfield, causing a loss of about
 250 jobs. 

 The tornado-devastated city of Mayfield, Kentucky too another blow recently when the people that run the candle factory destroyed by the December 10 twister won't rebuild or reopen.

That means 250 or so people have lost their jobs.  

Mayfield was probably the hardest hit community in an unprecedented December tornado outbreak that killed 76 people in Kentucky and surrounding states.Mayfield's downtown was destroyed, as was the candle factory where dozens of people were working when the tornado struck. 

The candle factory has about 500 employees. About 250 employees will be transferred to a new candle plant in nearby Hickory, Kentucky.  Company officials told the Louisville Courier Journal that they would like to hire everybody back eventually, but didn't know when that might happen, NBC News reports.

Nine of the 100 or so people working at the candle factory died when the tornado leveled the manufacturing plant. Managers of the plant came under fire after employees said they were not allowed to leave and find better shelter in the hours leading up to the tornado. 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said the state has launched an investigation into the reports that employees were threatened with being fired if they left in advance of the tornado. 

Workers who made these claims have sued the factory operators, saying keeping the workers at the doomed factory failed to "provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards," as required by Kentucky law, reports Kentucky.com.

AMAZON TORNADO LAWSUIT

Amazon warehouse destroyed by a tornado on December 10,
2021 killing six people. The estate of one of those killed is
suing Amazon citing unsafe working conditions during
the tornado emergency. 

Meanwhile, the family of one of six people who died on December 10 at an Illinois Amazon warehouse when another tornado struck has filed suit against the online giant. 

According to Reuters, the family of driver Austin McEwen, 26, filed the lawsuit, alleging that Amazon knew conditions were "highly unsafe as tornado warnings had been issued' but company officials "rolled the dice with peoples' lives to put profit over safety," said the family's attorney, Jack J. Casciato.    

The lawsuit is for multi millions of dollars, Casciato said.

Amazon officials deny the allegations, saying their building was built to code and employees were moved to safer areas when tornado warnings were issued.

Other Amazon employees dispute Amazon's attention to safety.  In December one driver told news media she was out making deliveries when tornado sirens began to wail. She asked to return to the warehouse but the manager told her to keep delivering or lose her job. This, despite the obvious danger of driving in an area under an active tornado warning. 

These two updates show that the immediate aftermath of a tornado, or any other big disaster is not the end of the story. It's just the beginning of it. For tornado victims, there will be plenty of twists and turns down the road. Many of these twists and turns will probably be painful.