This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 24, 2011 - As Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon peered down from the Blackhawk helicopter Saturday to survey "the longest tail of destruction I've ever seen personally," the governor said he continued to marvel the most important fact from Friday night's tornado.
"It's absolutely amazing that an EF-4 tornado could go through an airport and a number of communities and cause zero fatalities," Nixon said at a news conference Saturday afternoon at Lambert Field. "It's nothing more than astounding. It almost feels a little bit like divine intervention."
He credited the warnings aired via siren, television and radio -- and the public's swift action to heed them.
Still, the emotional pain and economic loss are substantial for hundreds of north St. Louis County residents who saw their homes badly damaged or destroyed by the worst tornado to hit the region since 1967.
"The look in their eyes, folks, is devastating," said St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, who had accompanied Nixon and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay on the helicopter tour.
President Barack Obama called the governor Saturday morning to offer his support and condolences. Also offering words of support were U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis.
Most of the damaged areas were in the district of U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, who toured neighborhoods Saturday morning. All told, said Nixon, at least 750 homes were damaged, and close to 100 destroyed. The destruction spanned at least nine north St. Louis County communities, including Berkeley, St. Ann, Maryland Heights, Ferguson and Bridgeton.
Federal and state emergency-management officials are expected to be on the scene within days, to offer any assistance, the governor said.
The storm knocked out power to about 47,000 homes and businesses, with about 21,000 still without power Saturday night, said Ameren chief executive Tom Voss.
Voss said 1,000 Ameren field workers were dispatched Friday night, and another 1,000 -- some coming from other states -- should be on the scene by Sunday, he said.
The facilities without power included Missouri's Bellefontaine Habilitation Center, a state-run residential center for the developmentally disabled. Nixon said that generators are being used to provide power until electricity can be restored.
Not all of the post-tornado reports were heartening. Also at Lambert were a half-dozen state legislators representing the storm-damaged communities. Most had spent the day assisting and talking to constituents.
State Rep. Eileen McGeoghegan, D-St. Ann, said residents had been reporting some looting and "scam artists" trying to take advantage of the tragedy. The latter, she said, included people who were attempting to mislead victims by "trying to get into houses, saying they needed to get their cell phones charged or asking for money or food."
McGeoghegan was among the homeowners without power, joking that she had been up until 2 a.m. dealing with her district's problems -- then having to take a cold shower in her darkened home before meeting up with the governor.
State Rep. Sylvester Taylor, D-Black Jack, showed up at the news conference in jeans and a T-shirt after spending most of the day helping people deal with downed trees and damaged roofs.
Wes Browning, the meteorologist in charge with the National Weather Service, said the service's survey teams out Saturday had determined that the tornado was at its strongest -- EF-4 -- in Bridgeton. Tornadoes are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, with an EF-5 the most powerful.
The tornado tore its path of destruction throughout the region in 34 minutes, Browning said. Despite the property loss, he called the episode "an amazing story of victory."
During Saturday's survey, Browning said, "We saw many people digging through their possessions."
But most were unhurt, he added.
"The public did what we had told them to do," Browning said. By taking shelter, most "came out without a scratch," he continued. "Their house was gone. Nothing left."
But the material losses can be replaced, Browning added.
Years from now, said Dooley, the suffering families "won't think about the airport" and their damaged homes. "They will think about their lives" -- and the fact that everyone survived.
