WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday approved a major disaster declaration for storms and tornadoes that hit the St. Louis area two months ago, assuaging concern that the White House might hold back on federal aid for the devastating tornado that hit St. Louis last week. The approval came more than two months after the storms hit a swath of Eastern and Southern Missouri on March 14 and 15, including St. Louis, Jefferson and Franklin counties. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on April 2 requested a major disaster declaration for the storms,
which killed 12 people across the state , including two in the St. Louis area, and cost at least $27 million in emergency response and damage to public infrastructure. A major disaster declaration from those storms
clears the way for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to individuals impacted by the storms, including grants and low-interest loans to pay for home repairs and business recovery.
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Trump's approval of the March disaster request comes amid turmoil at the federal agency and growing concern from communities around the country about the level of federal support they can expect after disasters. His administration has talked about shifting responsibility to states for disasters, and even about dismantling the agency. Trump's initial pick to head the agency, Cameron Hamilton,
was forced out earlier this month after he told Congress FEMA should not be eliminated. The administration's delays in approving federal disaster requests from Missouri and other states has fueled worries that federal help may not be forthcoming as St. Louis reels from
the devastating tornado May 16 that killed five people and caused more than $1 billion in damage, according to city estimates. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer on Thursday noted that FEMA teams were in St. Louis this week to assess damage from last week's tornado, a process state and city officials will use to formally request a disaster declaration. But the mayor acknowledged she had "concerns" about federal assistance, which she has said is essential to rebuild the city. “Look, defunding the areas of federal government that we so badly need to make our communities function well is a huge, huge problem when it comes to this and a whole host of things that the city relies on the federal government for," Spencer said Thursday. "Do I have concerns? Yes. Do I have confidence that we are doing everything we can? Absolutely. Do I have confidence that our governor and our local electeds, our senators and our congressmen, are doing everything possible? Yes I do, and we are marching forward because that is the only thing we can do.” Sen. Josh Hawley directly questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday about the Missouri disaster requests and said he spoke to the President on Wednesday about the need for federal aid for Missouri. The state's other senator, Eric Schmitt, also applauded the president's action Friday.
