St. Louis tornado 2025

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said the city was left to respond to the tornado alone because of “turmoil at the national level.”

The deadline to apply for FEMA funds for damage sustained in the May 16 tornado is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. St. Louisans can apply in person, online, by phone or on FEMA’s app.

A St. Louis couple is trying to pick up the pieces after the tornado turned their lives and their literacy nonprofit, Urban Born, upside down.

Mayor Cara Spencer asked FEMA officials Friday to consider a 30-day extension to allow more people to apply for emergency funds in the wake of the May 16 tornado that ripped through St. Louis.

Monet Beatty and Ali Rand did not know each other before May 16. In nearly 100 days, they’ve built a friendship of mutual support.

We walked and drove the storm’s path from Clayton to the Mississippi and found despair in some neighborhoods and others nearly fully recovered.

The external report released Monday confirmed earlier findings that the city lacked clear policies around who would activate sirens in severe weather. But it also found out-of-date emergency plans and a leadership vacuum in the hours and days after the storm.

The external report places most of the blame on City Emergency Management Agency Commissioner Sarah Russell, who was put on leave May 20.

Staff members opened up resource hubs and went door knocking to check in with families located in the path of the storm. Nearly 900 students were impacted.

Mayor Cara Spencer sent a letter to state officials in July asking for federal help with debris removal.