St. Louis mayor complains FEMA isn't on the ground after major tornado
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St. Louis construction workers survive tornado in their truck
St. Louis construction workers took shelter in their truck when a tornado ripped through the area.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer says FEMA still has no presence on the ground, several days after a mile-wide tornado cut a nearly 23-mile path through the area and damaged an estimated 5,000 buildings. Five people died in the city. Dozens were injured.
"On the local level, every organization, community member, elected official, has been on point. What we need right now is federal assistance," Spencer told MSNBC May 19. "This is what the federal government is for."
Spencer, a Democrat, estimated the damage at approximately $1 billion. At a press conference Sunday, she said her office worked with the St. Louis Community Foundation to create the City of St. Louis Tornado Response Fund, which is collecting donations.
Spencer said on social media that the city is actively working with state and federal authorities to get FEMA resources, but it could take weeks.
FEMA doesn't automatically provide assistance after a storm or disaster. Their presence must be requested by the state. Agency officials generally take a few days to arrive, during which time state and local emergency officials manage the disaster.
On Monday, Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, asked President Donald Trump to issue a federal Emergency Declaration and requested that FEMA participate in joint Preliminary Damage Assessments. Kehoe visited the city earlier in the day. Altogether, storms on May 16 caused seven deaths across Missouri and widespread damage in St. Louis and other areas of southeast Missouri.
More: Weather forecast calls for even more storms in central US
According to a news release from the governor's office, Kehoe has been in direct contact with Trump and other administration officials about getting federal help.
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pushed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to get the request for Friday's storm and two other unanswered disaster declaration requests before Trump as soon as possible.
"We are desperate for assistance in Missouri," he said. Noem promised to get the disaster declarations to Trump and expedite FEMA assistance once he approves them.
Missouri is still waiting for a response to requests for federal disaster declarations related to storms, tornadoes or flooding on March 14 and 15, March 30 through April 8 and April 29, according to the governor's office.
On the afternoon of May 20, at the first meeting of a new FEMA review council created by Trump, Noem spoke about how FEMA is sometimes politicized, saying that governors submit disaster declaration without filling out the application or providing the proper supporting documents 'so that they could say they did their part when necessarily even the basics weren't provided.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
At least 2,000 of FEMA's roughly 6,100 full-time employees are believed to have either left or plan to leave because of terminations and voluntary retirements ordered by Elon Musk's Department of Governmental Efficiency. Further layoffs are expected in the coming weeks as the Trump administration's review of FEMA continues.
USA TODAY reporter Dinah Pulver contributed.
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