STL Recovers - One Month In Review

A Message From Mayor Spencer

It has been one month since an EF-3 tornado hit the City of St. Louis on May 16, damaging thousands of homes and businesses and changing the lives of tens of thousands of residents forever. We have a long, long way to go for full restoration. But I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the monumental work that’s been done by City workers, thousands of volunteers, and our private, non-profit and regional partners in responding to this natural disaster.

Thank you to everyone that has stepped up to the plate to serve in this recovery effort.

Sincerely,
Mayor Cara Spencer, City of St. Louis

In Just Four Weeks, The City & Its Partners Have:

Secured Critical State Of Emergency Declarations

• Implemented an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the City, which provides City departments with ongoing emergency powers to provide immediate, critical response throughout the City.
• Coordinated with Gov. Kehoe to ensure the City could be included under the existing state of emergency order from the March 14 disaster instead of creating a new one, which would have taken longer to execute.
• Worked with Gov. Kehoe, Sen. Eric Schmitt, Sen. Josh Hawley, and Rep. Wesley Bell to call upon President Donald Trump to issue a federal major disaster declaration to put us on a path for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) support and funding, which was officially issued on Monday, June 9, 2025.

Secured The Safety And Shelter Of Residents

• Approximately 250 fire, EMS, and search and rescue personnel, with critical support
• from regional partners and agencies, searched nearly 2,500 structures and responded to over 400 emergencies in the first 24 hours.
• Triaged utility service restoration for electricity and water to critical locations like hospitals, schools, cell towers, supermarkets and more, thanks to the quick response by Ameren, the City’s Water Division, the Board of Public Service, and other partners.
• Ameren restored power to over 100K households, senior living facilities, schools, and daycares and addressed possible electrical fire safety issues. 
• Revised emergency protocol to ensure emergency sirens are operable during extreme weather events.
• Instituted a curfew in the affected area with extended shifts by SLMPD officers to ensure the safety of residents.
• Immediately partnered with labor groups and construction companies to secure dozens of high-powered construction lights in the impact area, to provide visibility in neighborhoods and at intersections without traffic lights for weeks following the tornado.
• Performed damage assessment of all City owned buildings/facilities damaged by the tornado.

Cleared Our Roads And Neighborhoods Of Debris

• Restored right-of-way access on streets and alleys and removed more than 6,750,000 cubic feet of debris thanks to City workers and volunteer contractors, who more than doubled our response capacity.
• Worked with Gov. Kehoe and the State to bring in the National Guard to manage four residential debris collection sites within impacted communities, in partnership with the SLPS, Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources and the City’s Health Department.
• Restored all traffic signals and most streetlights in the impact area 
• Completed building safety assessments for more than 7 ,000 structures in the impact area with support from the Missouri SA VE Coalition and the help of additional MO SA VE and building inspectors to continue safety inspections.
• Partnered with Dr. Alex Garza of SSM Health, the City’s Health Department, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Missouri Behavioral Health Strike Force, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and more to monitor and address health concerns as a result of the tornado.

Partnered To Ensure We Meet The Basic Needs Of Residents

• Created the stlrecovers.com website as a centralized information resource for impacted residents and people/organizations seeking resources and volunteer opportunities
• Established emergency shelter options for affected individuals and families in collaboration with the American Red Cross.
• Partnered with the Bi-State Metro public transportation system to implement nightly bus transportation to and from American Red Cross shelters for heavily impacted areas.
• Coordinated the delivery of over 100 porta-potties, handwashing stations, mobile showers, telephone charging stations, and more in the zone
• More than 285,000 meals have been served to neighbors in need by many partners, including Mercy Chefs, World Central Kitchen, Missouri Baptist, Salvation Army, Hot Meals USA, Soulcial Kitchen, American Red Cross, Little Caesars Love Kitchen, Currency of Caring Food Truck Network, and many local churches and restaurants.
• Established a central warehouse to enable large donations and short term storage.
• Continued daily canvassing by EMS and neighborhood improvement specialists to check in on impacted households and share information about resources.
• Worked with the Board of Aldermen to expand eligibility and funding for the Impacted Tenants Fund.
• Coordinated the launch of the large-scale Disaster Assistance Center to provide residents with critical relief and resources with over 30 information vendors.

Laid The Path For Recovery Funding

• Worked closely with Gov. Kehoe and state legislators to get critical state relief:
  • $100 million in disaster relief for the City from the state.
  • Establishing an up-to-$5,000 income tax credit per homestead per year for tornado-impacted individuals.
  • Providing $25 million to increase disaster assistance housing response grants for renters and homeowners.
• Collaborated closely with numerous parties, including the Board of Aldermen, City departments, and other City elected officials, to file and expedite passage of the following local legislation:
  • BB 23: expands eligibility of the Impacted Tenants’ Fund, which can provide an amount equal to a new apartment deposit, to tornado-impacted tenants forced to relocate due to tornado damage.
  • BB 24: gives our city assessor the power to make pro rata reduction in tornado- damaged property tax assessments.
  • BB 28: reappropriates $5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for tornado emergency home repair, household assistance, and clean-up assistance - expected to pass June 17.
  • BB 29: accepts $7 million in PRO Housing Grant funds, which will support a range of housing-related needs relevant to supporting tornado recovery efforts, including for some of our hardest hit neighborhoods–the Ville and Greater Ville - expected to pass June 17.
  • BB 31: appropriates $30 million in Rams interest toward tornado recovery, specifically relocation assistance for residents, home repair, personal property storage & senior support services. Expected to pass June 17.
• Implemented executive order to focus $5.4 million in ARPA building stabilization funds towards tornado-impacted property owners.
• Launched recovery funds with the St. Louis Community Foundation to raise funds for short-term needs and long-term recovery efforts.
• Requested waivers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that would allow the City to:
  • Free up more CDBG dollars for tornado response and relief;
  • Accelerate and scale the healthy home repair program for tornado relief;
  • Extend the City’s ability to provide emergency payments with existing CDBG dollars from three months to 12 months;
  • Waive local matching dollars requirements to allow the City to better support the Continuum of Care, homeless St. Louisians, and other critical tornado-related housing efforts; and
  • Use its powers over to Fair Housing Act properties to implement a foreclosure moratorium for those properties.

Related Resources

• STL Recovers

Documents

• STL Recovers - One Month In Review