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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| St Louis neighborhoods struggling to rebuild six months after tornado kills five |
| 2025-11-15 |
| Six months after an EF-3 tornado tore through St. Louis, killing five people and causing an estimated $1.6 billion in damage, parts of the city are still littered with broken windows, blue tarps and homes that haven’t been touched since May. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has previously warned that tornado-damaged communities can’t rebuild without strong federal involvement. In St. Louis, residents say they’re still waiting for the help they were told would be coming. Benjamin Anderson has lived in one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods for seven years and owns several rental properties in the area. When the storm hit, he was at work a few miles away. "I got bombarded by about 37 texts from my dad with photos of our buildings. Just totally … some of them literally totally destroyed," he said, adding that one of his multi-unit buildings suffered six figures’ worth of damage. "After spending a year and a half putting our hearts and souls into a building… that was not a fun experience to have to come back to." He said the recovery process has been slow and confusing, even for someone familiar with contractors and insurance systems. "I applied for FEMA five times on like 4 or 5 different properties. And we were denied every single time," Anderson said. "I haven't heard anybody who's come to me and they're like, 'I got a $10,000 check from FEMA, and it's really going to help me do these things.'" According to FEMA, millions of dollars in federal aid have been approved for Missouri storm survivors, including temporary housing assistance and low-interest SBA loans. But the agency noted in an October recovery update that many applications require follow-up documentation and some denials are later overturned on appeal. Homeowner Misty Williams said she’s hopeful about a new city program called STL Recovers, which helps tornado survivors figure out what assistance they qualify for and how to begin repairing their homes. City leaders recently announced an expanded recovery effort, including a housing and temporary shelter program unveiled by Mayor Cara Spencer that is aimed at helping families who still cannot return home six months after the storm. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
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| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-11-15 08:45 |