The mayor of St. Louis said Monday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hasn’t yet provided assistance on the ground—three days after a devastating tornado caused more than $1 billion in damage.
Cara Spencer told MSNBC that the EF3 tornado—which killed at least seven people—has brought out the best in the local response, but the federal side is lacking.
“FEMA has not been on the ground,” she said. “We do not have confirmed assistance from FEMA at this point. I do want to say, however, every other level of government has been on the ground with us helping in every capacity possible.”
“What we need right now is federal assistance,” she urged. “This is where FEMA and the federal government has got to come in and help communities. Our city cannot shoulder this alone. The state of Missouri cannot shoulder this alone.”
Spencer added that the federal government should be doing so for other affected areas as well. Another tornado—also on Friday—killed 19 in Kentucky.
“We need partners at the national level, at the federal level, to step up and help—and this is not just true for St. Louis,“ she said. ”Cities across the nation, when they are experiencing disasters such as this, this is what the federal government is for.”
Yet the agency—one of many hit with mass staff reductions by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency—doesn’t appear to be firing on all cylinders. FEMA’s interim leader, for instance, admitted that it isn’t prepared for hurricane season, which officially begins in just a matter of days.
Donald Trump has also indicated he wants to do away with FEMA entirely.
“I say you don’t need FEMA. You need a good state government,” Trump said while touring the Los Angeles area after wildfires ripped through there in January. “FEMA is a very expensive, in my opinion, mostly failed situation.”
Yet to those in disaster areas, it’s still very much needed, Spencer said Monday.
“When you have a disaster of this scale—eight miles of just pure destruction—this tornado didn’t just touch down and leave,“ she continued. ”This tornado ripped through our community for a full eight miles in the city of St. Louis, and this is an area that has needed help. We need investment. Our North St. Louis has been neglected for a long time and we need the help of our partners here.”
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