Five people are confirmed dead and others are injured after severe thunderstorms and a tornado hit the St. Louis region Friday.The city has issued a curfew for police districts five and six, which make up neighborhoods north of Forest Park, until 6 a.m. Saturday.
The National Weather Service said radar confirmed a tornado around 2:30 p.m. The storm caused damage in Clayton, University City, the Central West End and neighborhoods in north St. Louis.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said there were five confirmed storm-related fatalities during a press briefing Friday evening.
“We're going to have a lot of work to do in the coming days, there is no doubt there but tonight, we are focused on life,” Spencer said. “Saving lives and keeping people safe and allowing our community to grieve.”
A spokesperson for BJC Healthcare said St. Louis Children’s Hospital has so far received 15 patients; two have been admitted to the hospital. Barnes-Jewish Hospital received approximately 20 to 30 patience with storm-related injuries with some in critical condition.
City leaders request that people stay off the roads and avoid using cell phones. St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said several cell towers were affected.
“We're gradually getting the cell phones back up and the cell service back up, so we're going to see some of the calls increase,” Jenkerson said.
Social media posts showed trees in roads and damage to buildings and cars throughout the area. Hail was also part of the storm.
There was significant damage on North Euclid Avenue in the Central West End. During the tornado, Aesha Moorehead said she had to open doors to get people to safety.
“We felt the lights go off, and then the building shook, and then all hell broke loose,” said Moorehead, assistant property manager of Roosevelt Town Apartments.
Moorehead said the storm was bringing the community together to clean up debris.
“It feels good to see everyone working together,” Moorehead said. “Honestly it’s a good thing. It sucks that it had to get to this for us to work together, but it’s beautiful to see.”
Westminster Place was also hit hard by the storm with branches falling on cars and leaving residents without power.
The Central West End hasn’t witnessed a storm like this in years, said Fred Falker, a 42-year Westminster resident.
“We're probably still a little bit in shock,” Falker said. “But we did get the street clean so we can actually drive down the street.”
Many Westminster residents took to the street to help out neighbors.
“Everybody grabbed what they could, saws, hand saws, chainsaws, everything,” Westminster resident Brandon Hall said. “Axes, cutting up trees, carrying logs, getting them off people's cars.”
Hall and other neighbors helped clean up the street, moving branches to help clear the street, including roofing company workers who were already out in the neighborhood.
More than 115,000 Ameren customers were without power as of 4:30 p.m.
Other Central West End residents left for the evening after losing power.
“I'm gonna go stay with family in Belleville,” said Maggie Burnworth, who rents an apartment complex on McPherson Avenue.
Another McPherson resident who owns an apartment said his home suffered from broken windows.
“When I got into the basement, I heard a huge, loud racket outside, and then the building started shaking,” Myron Dyer said. “Then the power went out.”
Outages also caused Metrolink to stop running the Red Line between Wellston and Central West End and the Blue Line between Maplewood-Manchester and the Central West End. Bus shuttles will transport passengers in those areas.
The Missouri History Museum announced it was closing for the rest of the day because of the storm. The St. Louis Zoo is also closed for the rest of Friday and Saturday because of damage. A social media post said that all animals were safe and accounted for, and that there were not significant injuries of any staff or visitors.
Some businesses and organizations also reported damage, including the Craft Alliance on Delmar Boulevard and the Animal Protective Association of Missouri in Brentwood.
St. Louis Public Schools said that some school buildings at Beaumont Technical Center, Sumner HS, Soldan HS, Washington Montessori ES and Hickey ES are damaged. SLPS is evaluating the damage and will inform parents if any schools are cancelled Monday or if students will get moved to another school.
The storm also damaged the set for Shakespeare in the Park’s production of "Hamlet" in Forest Park.
The NWS issued tornado warnings for the Metro East and south of Rolla as storms moved through the region.
Until the National Weather Service goes out to survey damage, it does not officially confirm there was a tornado or the likely tornado’s strength. But radar during the storm showed strong rotation and debris, which led to the radar confirmation.
St. Louis continues to be in a tornado watch until 7 p.m.
Rachel Lippmann, Jeremy Goodwin and Miya Norfleet contributed to this report.
This story has been updated.
