Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said Thursday he feels “really good” about existing disaster declarations he’s submitted — despite other states’ requests being recently denied by the federal government.
Kehoe requested an emergency declaration from the Trump administration for the St. Louis area’s deadly tornado, which would allow the state to receive up to $5 million from the federal government to support the cleanup.
While the governor hasn’t heard back on that request, or requests he made for March and April storms, the governor said “everybody’s working together.”
“We've already had that brewing in D.C., and I feel good in talking to the president and to our two senators that we'll get some good news in those pretty soon,” Kehoe said on Thursday afternoon. “And then we'll be following up with this.”
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency began assessing tornado damage from last week’s tornado earlier this week. They will continue their work through Sunday, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said.
“We've been on the ground for days now, and we are working really hard to get that evaluation conducted and completed as soon as possible,” Spencer said.
Once those assessments are complete, Kehoe can ask the White House for a major disaster declaration, which would unlock extra resources for individual and public assistance.
FEMA has recently denied Arkansas, West Virginia and Washington’s requests for disaster declarations.
The Republicans in Missouri’s congressional delegation penned a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, asking for a major disaster declaration.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also implored Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, to help secure federal assistance at a Capitol Hill hearing this week. Noem said she would get the application to the White House “as soon as possible.”
State and city officials believe individual assistance from FEMA will be essential for parts of north St. Louis, where a large percentage of the homeowners are either underinsured or uninsured.
“It's unfortunate in these situations that you almost can't respond fast enough with some of that assistance,” Kehoe said.
