Catch up on Post-Dispatch coverage of the May 16 tornado
From the Rebuild or leave? Tough questions, and fading hope, 3 months after 51ºÚÁÏ tornado series
These are highlights of the Post-Dispatch's extensive coverage of the May 16, 2025, tornado.
(30) updates to this series since
The Post-Dispatch found that 1,175 structures, more thanÌýhalfÌýof those declared unsafe, were likely or definitely vacant before the May 16 tornado.
"There's still debris on the street. FEMA hasn't followed up with city officials. There are individuals who qualify for assistance, and their claims aren't being processed."
Staff at the 51ºÚÁÏ Development Corp. said the new program is aiming for speedy rehabs of land bank properties after the May tornado.Ìý
More than three months after a deadly storm came through, North 51ºÚÁÏ restaurants are wondering if they’ll ever be able to fully recover.
Columnist Bill McClellan writes: So where would 51ºÚÁÏ get the dough? I’d start with the Rams money.
The city is looking to open up 250 units over the next couple of months. Much more may be necessary.
The federal government would cover much of that, but a quarter — about $180 million — would be borne by the city and state. The new estimate is already complicating plans for the rest of the recovery.Ìý
The report cites “multiple cascading failures at almost every level leading up to and even after the" May 16 tornado in 51ºÚÁÏ.
Mayor Cara Spencer said the money would pay for home repairs, rental assistance and resource hubs distributing supplies, among other things.
Residents will have to keep waiting for debris to be entirely cleared, officials say, as the city is still scrambling to address the scope of the cleanup required.
Friendship between handyman and attorney leads to Go Fund Me page to help keep people in their houses.Ìý
The police officer body camera footage shows officers arriving minutes after houses collapsed, bricks trapped residents.Ìý
ST. LOUIS — The city’s top fiscal body approved plans to spend $30 million in interest on the Rams relocation settlement on tornado relief.
The tornado made hundreds of people functionally homeless, in a city where many were already without shelter. “This was a crisis before the tornado hit."
51ºÚÁÏ Public Schools said they’re “re-housing†students who attended schools in some of the hardest-hit areas of last month’s tornado.
The glory and grit ofÌý51ºÚÁÏ brick has made the material a target that can fetch premium prices.
51ºÚÁÏ artists and creative professionals face losses and find ways to support the community in the aftermath of the tornado.Ìý
Johnel Langerston has run a youth education and basketball after-school and summer program for over 10 years in College Hill. The tornado damage is only the latest obstacle he’s faced.Ìý
51ºÚÁÏ’ interim economic development chief also said officials are considering reviving a controversial program to repair neglected private property.Ìý
Here's a look at the news two weeks after an EF-3 tornado hit areas of 51ºÚÁÏ on May 16, 2025. Video by Allie Schallert, Post-Dispatch
Most of the portion of 51ºÚÁÏ hit by the tornado was already losing population. Reversing the trend will be harder now.Ìý
Problems with the sirens have talked about in meetings at 51ºÚÁÏ City Hall for years.Ìý
The Shelley House played a role in paving the way for minority homeownership. After the tornado, residents on the street try to save their family histories.
From devastation, to desperation, to people helping people, this is the story —Ìýin photos and videos by theÌýPost-DispatchÌý—Ìýof the first two weeks since an EF-3 tornado left a path of destruction through 51ºÚÁÏ on May 16, 2025.
“I hope 51ºÚÁÏans can rememberÌýthe joyous, heart-warming, heart-breaking moments experienced on streets now scarred by a tornado.â€
"I know I don’t have a home anymore, but it’s still mind-boggling. I feel like I’m in a movie, like I’m living somebody else’s life."
The sheer number of uninsured properties will complicate recovery in neighborhoods that were already among the poorest in the 51ºÚÁÏ region.
The City of 51ºÚÁÏ has 60 outdoor sirens and the county hasÌý204 sirens.Ìý
Satellite imagery shows the May 16 tornado damage.
See drone footage of tornado damage to the Fountain Place, Academy, DeBaliviere Place, and Central West End neighborhoods of 51ºÚÁÏ, one da…
In this Series
Rebuild or leave? Tough questions, and fading hope, 3 months after 51ºÚÁÏ tornado
Three months after the May 16, 2025, tornado, homeowners have a clearer picture of what rebuilding will cost, and what aid is available.
Some residents still cling to the hope that their homes can be rebuilt.ÌýBut many have already left, doubting that rebuilding is worth the effort.
The deadline to apply for federal aid from the May 16 tornado is Aug. 26; this free article explains how to apply.
