Days after a deadly tornado hit St. Louis, experts say health problems and risks can continue for victims left in a natural disaster’s path of destruction.
That includes respiratory issues such as asthma flare-ups and pneumonia caused by debris kicked up during the storm and building materials from destroyed or damaged buildings.
According to the American Lung Association, it’s not unusual for people to develop respiratory issues after a natural disaster, even if they’ve never experienced them in the past.
“Even when you're not looking at some of the most heavily impacted areas, because of all the dust and debris and things getting kind of kicked up into the air, people are just more susceptible to respiratory infections and complications,” said Rachel Sanford, health promotions manager for the American Lung Association in Missouri.
Tornadoes lead to worsened levels of air pollution, “which can really exacerbate existing lung conditions for folks with lung diseases as well as cause new ones,” she said.
The powerful tornado roared through parts of central and north St. Louis on Friday afternoon, killing five people, injuring dozens and leveling or severely damaging thousands of buildings in O’Fallon, Penrose, the Ville and other neighborhoods. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado traveled for 23 miles and included top wind speeds of around 150 mph.
Sanford knows that lung problems are likely not on some people’s minds as they recover from losing homes and belongings.
There is one small thing they can do, she said: Wear a respirator mask, such as an N95, that can filter out particles when outdoors or when cleaning up damaged buildings or debris.
Risks of cleaning historic homes
Sanford noted many of the neighborhoods hit by Friday’s storm have historic homes, some more than 100 years old. Older buildings can contain dangerous chemicals such as arsenic, nickel or lead, or building materials, including asbestos and fiberglass, that can damage lungs when inhaled.
“A lot of these particles are really, really small, so that means that they travel very deep into the lungs when they're inhaled, and they can really cause a lot of damage,” she said.
Ronnie Winthrop, who was cleaning debris from his damaged home near West Florissant Avenue, said he estimated the brick building was more than a century old. The house had been in the family for more than four decades, he said.
"I’ve seen the wind as hard as I could ever see it,” said Winthrop. “I seen a flying brick, which I've never seen a day in my life.”
Like many houses in the neighborhood, the violent wind ripped the historic home apart in layers.
“I heard a roof lift up off the house. I didn't know if the roof at the time, but I heard the bricks moving,” Winthrop said. “It went by really fast, and then it took off the siding. It took off the coping. It took the chimney, and the chimney took the roof.”
Damaged older homes can bring other long-term health risks. Homebuilders commonly used asbestos as insulation for patching holes. Residents cleaning up might face flare-ups of allergies and asthma from dust. Mold and fungus from standing water or damp houses can cause pneumonia and other infections.
People should be on the lookout for coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or chest tightness and pain, according to the Lung Association’s website.
Lessons from Joplin
After a tornado hit Joplin in 2011, a local doctor found an increase in lung infections.
In a study published four years after the storm hit, Dr. Beth Hakala wrote that patients who lived or worked in the tornado’s path later had increased rates of pneumonia compared to those who worked outside the “tornado zone.”
The study also found the patients with pneumonia who lived in the tornado zone were younger than other patients, and it found “uncommon microbes” in samples taken from the tornado victims.
The findings align with reports of patients in Joplin developing a rare fungal infection that can affect sinuses and other bodily systems. Doctors said that the fungus likely came from dirt and debris that embedded in the skin during the tornado.
Volunteer Daniell Kinder said lessons from the Joplin tornado inspired her to distribute respirators to people affected by the St. Louis tornado. The Venita Park resident is a member of Mask Bloc St. Louis, a group that formed during the coronavirus pandemic that purchases or otherwise acquires face masks in bulk and distributes them around the region.
Kinder’s friend developed an infection after the Joplin tornado, she said. And Kinder’s experiences with COVID-19 patients has shown her how lung issues can persist for years.
“Breathing in asbestos and getting lung cancer would also turn your life completely on end,” she said.
Mask Bloc has dropped off 1,000 masks to donate to victims at the O’Fallon Park Rec Complex and is distributing more to help storm victims and those cleaning up debris.
“We still want people to be as healthy as they possibly can be,” she said. “We've had this event happen, and it's really big, and we have thousands of people who are now newly unhoused. We need to keep people as safe and healthy as we possibly can, and the respirators are a major part of that.”
Long-term worries
Across from O'Fallon Park, another volunteer, Kevin Jackson, from Maryland Heights, was grilling hot dogs for the neighborhood and handing out supplies under a pop-up tent. He said he came to the neighborhood Friday night and hasn’t left since, grabbing a few hours of sleep at a time in his pickup truck.
“I came over here to help a friend, and I just looked for a need,” he said.
Jackson, a contractor, has a history of pulmonary problems – his lung collapsed more than 10 years ago after it filled with fluid. Jackson said he hasn’t experienced any issues in the four days he’s been outside.
“I'd like to think that the coolness and maybe the rain has kind of helped keep a lot of the stuff down,” he said.
Jackson said that he thinks risks could come more when people are cleaning their houses.
“As a contractor, and a lot of these houses being very, very, very old, I can say that some of those chemicals are present,” he said. “I can say that it's a good chance that the people coming in [who are] doing a lot of the cleanup, they probably are not taking the proper steps.”
Dr. Catherine Moore, a family medicine physician who works at Affinia Health’s north Florissant location, said the biggest health effects she has seen among her patients is people not showing up for appointments. She’s also concerned that the storm has closed pharmacies in north St. Louis where many patients have their prescriptions filled.
But patients have come to the clinic who could have been affected.
“I think that some of those things we're seeing already,” she said. “I know one of my partners saw a patient today who's had a flare-up of their asthma since Friday. ... But I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of that, and I'm sure the [emergency departments] have already.”
Moore said that people in tornado-affected areas who have asthma should make sure to have their medications and inhalers, in addition to wearing respirator masks.
“These things, you might not be thinking about them right now, because there's more pressing issues at hand,” she said. “But they're going to become more pressing if you don't have access to your basic care.”
