Commercial Fixed Wing
Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Object
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged
Human Factors; Weather
I notified both management and the local operations center that there was a fast approaching thunderstorm. There seemed to be less than adequate concern. I then again expressed my concern; that the storm was at the airport boundary; 'headed straight for us'. The reply was 'we are going to evaluate the situation'. I then stated that the ramp [should] be closed; the reply was no that it did not need to be closed. Approx. 2 minutes later; there was extreme wind; lightning; and rain. The wind reached an approx. speed to 60 mph in my opinion. After the event; there were 2 [wide body] aircraft that had been damaged by runaway containers. There were a number of containers; carts; [and] dollies that had been moved by the wind. There were multiple reports of persons knocked down by the wind; myself included. This was an extremely dangerous situation that should never have happened because we reacted after the fact; instead of being proactive before the event.
An air carrier ground employee reported some aircraft were damaged by high winds blowing equipment into them. The reporter stated the outcome would have been better if proactive steps had been taken while the storm was approaching.