Gloria Nolan is counting her blessings after an EF3 tornado tore through her neighborhood near Fairgrounds Park in north St. Louis. She and her two children were not home at the time, but her husband, Kevin Nolan, was sitting outside in his car at the back of their house. The couple were on the phone with each other when the storm suddenly grew stronger.
Gloria Nolan encouraged her husband to get in the house immediately. When he exited his vehicle to seek shelter inside, a tree fell from the strong winds and landed at their backdoor.
“The tree took out the power line and covered the backyard and back door. I said, ‘Hey, maybe try going around the front.’ He went around the front, and there was the roof,” she said. “Then he sent me a picture. I didn’t understand it. It was quite shocking.”
Kevin Nolan made it inside the house. He didn’t sustain any injuries, but their home — which was built in 1925 — has extensive damage. Thunderstorms from Monday evening exacerbated issues further for the Nolans and the tenants they share their duplex with.
“Some of the ceiling came in, and there was some damage on the side of the tenants. They’ve shown pictures of some of the ceiling where you could see the sky, and it was the same on our side,” Gloria Nolan said. “After last night's storm, even after tarping, the wind moved the tarp, rain came in and we have even more exposure. So, the roof is going to collapse.”
The Nolans have been displaced from their home since Friday. Thanks to generous support from friends and family, they have temporary housing. Gloria Nolan knows that not everyone has a safety net and that many of her neighbors are stuck in a lurch.
“Around us there are several renters and a number of homeowners as well, but I'm getting the sense that people are either uninsured or underinsured,” she said. “In our own residence, the insurance company that we were working with before — they only insured our side of the building. It wasn't until we spoke with a professional that read our policy and made us aware that our whole building wasn't covered. We would be in really big trouble right now if we hadn't caught that [early on].”
Gloria Nolan said her family is no stranger to the power of community aid and engagement. She and her husband offer holiday cheer as Cocoa Santa and Mrs. Claus. The Nolans are touched by the outpouring of encouragement from their fellow neighbors, and they have been helping others affected by the tornado.
She is, however, disappointed in city leadership’s disaster response.
“I grew up in north city, and it's been an area that's been forgotten [and] divested. So I didn't expect a big response, to be quite honest. But it’s still upsetting [and] heartbreaking,” she said. “We need food and water and a lot of the organizations are providing that. But some of the long term support [is] missing. That immediate response was not there.”
The Nolans now wait for their insurance company to assess the damage — a week after the tornado, with thunderstorms and rain in the interim.
“[An insurance representative] will meet us on Saturday to assess the damages. We were told to download an app and take certain pictures of the home, just so that they would have those before coming over,” Gloria Nolan said. “So we have a long journey ahead of us.”
For more on the Nolans’ experience in recovering from last week’s tornado, including what she and her family managed to do for themselves and their neighbors, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
