When a tornado struck Joplin on May 22, 2011, killing 161 people and causing about $2 billion in damage, President Barack Obama issued a major disaster declaration the next day.
That action immediately made help available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, for people to pay for temporary housing and begin repairs. The declaration also made state and local governments, as well as some not-for-profit aid agencies, eligible for reimbursement of 75% of the cost of recovery and rebuilding.
By the time the books were closed, FEMA had distributed $37.1 million to individuals for recovery needs and provided $161.6 million for public recovery and rebuilding costs.
In St. Louis, a May 16 tornado cut a 22-mile path across the region, damaging or destroying 16,000 structures and killing five people. Damage is estimated at $1.6 billion, making it the biggest weather disaster for Missouri since the Joplin tornado.
Gov. Mike Kehoe made a formal request on May 26 for President Donald Trump to extend similar help. Nine days later, that request is still pending as Trump waits for the results of a formal assessment of damages.
It is part of a pattern in Trump’s second term of longer waits and, oftentimes, denials of state requests for disaster declarations.
Kehoe on April 2 requested a declaration for help following severe storms and flooding in southeast Missouri. Trump issued the declaration May 21, 49 days later. That is the longest period from request to approval in the past 15 years.
A May 1 request, for storms and flooding from March 30 to April 8, was also approved May 21.
Another disaster declaration request from Missouri, submitted May 19, is also awaiting action by the president.
The 20-day wait for the May 1 request was longer than all but six of the 20 federal disaster requests submitted by Missouri governors from the start of 2010 through the end of 2024. The average wait during that period, from a governor’s request to a presidential declaration, was 16 days.
St. Louis area state lawmakers, called to Jefferson City for a special session, said the delay is adding to the hardship thousands face, with some people camping outside destroyed homes because they have no money for shelter.
“Some people are staying in homes that are completely unsafe to stay in after the storm has wiped out their entire neighborhood,” state Sen. Brian Williams, a Democrat from University City, said in an interview with The Independent. “It’s saddening, it’s disheartening, and I’m not interested in any conversation outside of ensuring that storm victims are taken care of.”
A federal disaster declaration can make help available for individuals and public needs, or it can be limited to assisting with public recovery costs.
Nationally, over the last four years, FEMA has provided more than $12 billion to individuals and $133 billion to state and local governments, tribal nations, territories and some nonprofits to help in recovery efforts, Stateline reported in February.
When individual assistance is provided, victims can receive up to $770 for immediate emergency needs, plus up to $43,600 to assist with home repair costs and $43,600 for other recovery costs.
A federal disaster declaration also provides emergency SNAP and unemployment benefits.
The main purpose of the special session is to consider legislation offering tax incentives for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals to remain in Missouri.
The bill providing stadium aid also includes a tax credit of up to $5,000 for payments against an insurance deductible in a disaster area. A spending bill requested by Kehoe includes $25 million, to be spent by the Missouri Housing Development Commission to assist in repairs.
But with 37 Missouri counties covered by disaster requests submitted this year, lawmakers from both St. Louis and rural areas say the money is inadequate.
State Sen. Jason Bean, a Republican from Holcomb, said the $25 million is “a drop in the bucket” for disaster needs. Bean represents 10 southeast Missouri counties that include the three with the highest poverty rates in the state.
Eight of the 10 counties in Bean’s district were included in Trump’s disaster declaration for storms and flooding on March 14 and 15. All 10 were included in the disaster declaration for the March 31 to April 8 storms and flooding.
The delay in receiving help is frustrating, Bean said during a hearing on the spending bill.
“We need to realize that people have been living in shelters,” Bean said. “They’ve been living in other homes for some time. So once again, the speed of our response, I think, is something we’ve just got to address.”
Massive, obvious disasters like Joplin no longer get quick responses from FEMA. Since taking office, Trump has tried to push more costs to state and local agencies, even suggesting that FEMA be abolished.
Now, every disaster must go through the formal assessment process to determine if it meets the standards for federal assistance.
FEMA uses cost per capita to gauge whether local and state governments can handle recovery themselves, or if they’ll need federal help. Those thresholds currently stand at $4.72 per capita for counties and $1.89 per capita for states.
But just meeting those thresholds isn’t enough. Trump can accept or deny applications at his discretion.
“After a thorough assessment, FEMA will approve a disaster declaration request if the assessment shows the event’s damage exceeds the state, local governments, and voluntary organizations’ capacity to respond,” a FEMA spokesperson wrote in an email to The Independent. “Just like all declaration requests, this decision is based on policy, not politics.”
During testimony on the special session legislation, Casey Millburg, policy director for St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, said Kehoe and the state’s congressional delegation have all been pushing for action on the disaster request.
“There’s certainly a tremendous amount of uncertainty in our minds,” she said. “We are certainly hopeful.”
The congressional delegation push began the day after Kehoe requested aid for tornado response.
“Missourians are still recovering from the recent tornado, and our communities are in desperate need of federal assistance,” U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, a Republican from St. Louis County, said in a news release May 27, the day after Kehoe made his request.
Wagner, five of Missouri’s eight U.S. House members and both U.S. Senators signed a letter to Trump on May 27 urging swift action.
“These resources are essential to stabilizing affected communities and safeguarding public health and safety,” the letter stated. “Given the scale of devastation and the urgent need for federal assistance, we respectfully request swift approval of Missouri’s disaster declaration. We appreciate your attention to this matter and stand ready to support efforts to ensure resources reach those who need them most.”
During a hearing on the special session legislation, state Sen. Barbara Washington, a Democrat from Kansas City, asked budget director Dan Haug whether FEMA would approve the request to help St. Louis.
“Have we received notice that FEMA is going to help?” she said. “Because there are other states that have been denied assistance from FEMA, and so have we received any guarantee that we’re actually going to receive funding from FEMA to help?”
Haug said no assurances have been received.
“I think the governor’s office, in communication with our federal officials, feel confident in the result,” Haug said.
Williams, however, said the state shouldn’t count on it.
“I am not optimistic,” he said, “that FEMA is going to step in and do anything.”