Major disaster declaration approved for May 16 tornado, Kehoe says

ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) -- President Donald Trump approved Missouri’s request for a major disaster declaration for the May 16 deadly EF-3 tornado that went through St. Louis.

In a post on X Monday evening, Kehoe said Trump informed him the request was approved. The approval comes 24 days after the tornado ravaged north St. Louis and killed five people.

“This means we are moving in the right direction,” said St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer.

Spencer said in a press conference on Monday night she feels fantastic about federal disaster relief coming to the city of St. Louis. But she tells residents this is just the first bucket of money, with more steps — and potentially more money — to come.

“I don’t want to give false hope here, I want people to know this is just a first step,” said Spencer.

Spencer said this pot of money would be for individual assistance but didn’t know the exact amount.

Sen. Eric Schmitt posted more specifics on X, thanking President Trump for approving “$71 million in disaster aid to help eastern Missouri community hit by last month’s devastating storms.”

FEMA assessed the damage in St. Louis City and part of St. Louis County following the storms. The declaration unlocks additional funds to assist people who suffered damage.

Spencer said the city could not shoulder the burden of the storm by itself. She estimated the total damage costs to be around $2 billion.

But earlier Monday, residents were skeptical any federal money would come.

“I have no confidence in them whatsoever,” said Jeffrey Booker.

Jeffrey Booker’s home is livable, but he lost his back wall in the storm and has tried to fix it…

“Basically ourselves because nobody is helping us, FEMA is not here,” said Booker.

After the Joplin tornado in 2011, it took around one day to get the counties affected added to a disaster declaration. Nationally, wildfires in southern California last year and wildfires in Hawaii in 2023 took one or two days to get disaster declarations. For the May 16 tornado, it’s taken over three weeks to get federal assistance.

“Where is that assistance at? Where is the federal assistance at?” said Booker.

FEMA is going through funding and staffing cuts, so Mayor Spencer said there are still plenty of unknowns.

“As we recognize the FEMA staffing levels have gone down, we don’t know exactly what this looks like, but it is an important first step,” said Spencer.

Spencer said she would welcome President Trump in north St. Louis for a tour of the damage. The mayor will be traveling to Jefferson City Tuesday to speak with state lawmakers.

Spencer told reporters she did not know exactly when the funds will arrive.

Kehoe said more details will be released in the future about FEMA assistance.

Copyright 2025 KMOV. All rights reserved.