The fearsome tornadoes that have caused death and destruction through 400km across six states in the US tore apart an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, killing at least six workers, and raised serious issues regarding the company’s ban on mobile phones in the workplace.

Amazon had eased off on the ban during the pandemic, but were slowly reintroducing the rule which sees workers have to leave their devices in their car or locker before metal detector and security checks.

With emergency responders still combing through the factory wreckage for survivors, workers say they want to have their phones with them at all times, to stay up-to-date with updates on such catastrophic weather events, as well as to contact rescuers if they do become trapped in a similar situation.

As one worker from a nearby facility says, “If they institute the no cellphone policy, I am resigning.”

In the US, the National Weather Service releases warnings about extreme weather via text.