It's been more than 48 hours since a tornado touched down in Clayton and tore a path of destruction at least 8 miles long. Here is the latest information we have on the storm's impact.
The damage done
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said the city assessor's office estimates there was at least $1 billion in property damage. Of the 5,000 buildings in the tornado's path, at least 4,400 sustained some damage, said Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson.
"That does not even begin to account for the personal, human toll that this has taken in our community," Spencer said on Sunday.
Spencer urged residents to be patient as the city works to get a federal disaster declaration, which would free up federal funding for recovery.
"It is not a short process. We have begun our part," she said. "We are working with state and federal partners on that, and we will continue to press that. We are working relentlessly to get that declaration."
Officials with Ameren said that as of noon Sunday, about 36,000 customers in the city remained without power. At the storm's peak, more than 100,000 were without power statewide.
But restoring service to those remaining customers will be a heavy lift, even with 1,900 workers onsite. Nearly 300 power poles are down as a result of the storm.
"This is a very devastating site," said Landy Wince, Ameren's senior director of regional operations. "We will be working into the week restoring some of the harder-hit areas. It's just difficult to get to them."
Impact on schools
The Clayton School District will be closed Monday due to damage to its buildings, though sports practices will go on at alternative sites.
Students from at least a dozen schools in the St. Louis Public School District are being sent to other SLPS schools that were unaffected by the storm and remain open.
Several schools sustained roof and water damage and broken windows, district officials said Sunday.
With one week of classes left and graduations underway, SLPS Superintendent Millicent Borishade said parents and guardians will be responsible for getting kids to and from school after the storm damaged the First Student bus depot.
She said the vendor informed them that they won't be providing any buses for students until further notice.
"We are having lots of conversations. We have done the assessments, the roads are hard to get through, and so we know right now that transportation is very, very uncertain," Borishade said during a press conference Sunday evening. "We want parents to make the best decision for their students."
In addition to a lack of buses, Borishade said it's hard to say if alternative forms of transportation for students will be available in place of buses. Some vendors may not be able to utilize their vehicles due to downed powerlines and other roadblocks.
"I want to make sure we don't rely on something that is not 100% certain," she added. "It could change tomorrow."
In an effort to be a safe haven for the community, Borishade said a community outreach fair will take place Monday at the district's central office.
There, SLPS families and students can obtain hygiene products, socks, underwear, snacks and sack lunches provided by Chartwell, the district's food service provider. The event will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
She said they also plan to extend breakfast and lunchtime at open schools.
More severe weather ahead
Officials and forecasters are keeping a wary eye on the skies as more severe weather is in the forecast for Monday afternoon into the evening. The National Weather Service says all hazards, including hail, strong winds and even a tornado or two, are possible.
Volunteers were out Sunday with tarps and two-by-fours, trying to shore up as many buildings as possible and protect the belongings inside. But many of them still won't be safe places to shelter during severe weather.
"Make sure, while the sun is out, that you find … a place that you can get to and have a plan to get there," said Sarah Russell, commissioner of the City Emergency Management Agency. "Whether it's your local church or other facility in the community or a loved one's house, make sure that you have somewhere to quickly take shelter."
Russell urged people to have multiple ways to receive severe weather warnings, even without power.
Spencer said she expects to release a report Tuesday on whether outdoor warning sirens sounded as expected during the storm.
"It is an issue we are taking very seriously," she said. "It is important to understand what happened there, and it is important to get to the bottom of it."
Red Cross seeks another shelter
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Tracy said a curfew will remain in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in areas north of Forest Park and west of Vandeventer until further notice. He said officers had not issued any violations, and there had been no reports of looting.
LaKricia Cox, executive director of the American Red Cross of Greater St. Louis, said the agency was looking for space to open a fourth overnight shelter.
"We couldn't get closer into the city like we wanted to, because we didn't have access to power for a lot of the target locations that we wanted," Cox said, adding that the agency had been able to secure transportation to get people to the available shelters.
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