Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Saturday that the state National Guard will help remove and sort through debris for two weeks starting next week after a tornado devastated the St. Louis region on May 16.
Up to 41 members of the 35th Engineer Brigade will arrive in the city on Wednesday, Kehoe said. A state National Guard liaison officer has assisted the city with evaluating relief needs since May 20.
"We are thankful for the efforts of the men and women of the Missouri National Guard in this mission," Kehoe said. "Recovery will take time, but our state agencies remain committed to partnering with local officials to assist affected residents and businesses."
The state National Guard plans to provide support through June 11.
Teams will assist in impacted city neighborhoods to sort through debris and take it to landfills. City leaders and emergency officials are still finalizing exact locations, but they're planning for the National Guard to help manage four debris collection sites in the city.
The military force is partnering with St. Louis Parks, Recreation and Forestry and other city entities to operate the fenced collection sites in impacted residential areas.
The sites will be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. seven days a week.
The State Emergency Management Agency is also continuing efforts to coordinate with local officials and volunteer and faith-based partners to help impacted families.
Federal Emergency Management Agency teams were in St. Louis city and county this past week assessing storm impact, and will return next week to continue gauging damage to public buildings, bridges and other infrastructure.
The city assessor's office estimated at least $1 billion in property damage from the storm.
It typically takes a few weeks from the time a disaster occurs for the president to approve a major disaster declaration. President Donald Trump just approved Kehoe's major disaster requests on Friday for storms that hit Missouri in March and April.
Missouri's federal lawmakers said this week that they'll push to get a major disaster declaration approved swiftly after it's sent to President Trump.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said Saturday the money will be used for repairing public buildings and city workers' overtime.
Unsafe to enter
About a third of St. Louis buildings damaged in the May 16 tornado have been deemed not safe to enter as of Saturday, according to city officials.
Spencer said Saturday the city had completed 3,400 structural building evaluations of the nearly 5,000 buildings, including homes, businesses and places of worship, that were damaged or destroyed by the EF3 tornado that devastated the St. Louis region a week ago.
Buildings that are not safe to enter have red stickers on them, which means they are structurally dangerous. Yellow stickers mean moderate danger and green stickers indicate the building is safe to enter.
The city typically doesn't use orange stickers, but they were temporarily used this past week when yellow ones ran out, Spencer said.
"We put a stop to it as soon as we learned about it because it is confusing," Spencer said. "Those stickers should be red, yellow and green. The process here has been complicated, but we (have been assessing buildings) in a grid fashion to be as thorough as possible, and we will get to every house."
She reiterated that the city will not punish residents for entering their homes with red stickers, but that Ameren has cut off power in those structures for safety reasons.
"We know this is heartbreaking and adding trauma to an already traumatic scenario here, but we recognize that it's dangerous to have electricity on in those structurally unsound buildings," Spencer said. "We've already battled some fires here this morning, and we want to make sure we're keeping incidents down to a minimum."
Power outages and cleanup
Ameren officials said that about 1,600 people were still without power Saturday afternoon, but that they hope to have most restored by the end of the day on Sunday.
As of Saturday morning, seven streetlights in the city still needed repair, Spencer said.
The city also has portable toilets out in north St. Louis. Spencer discouraged people from setting up their own portable toilets so that the city can keep track of the containers and be able to remove and replace them as needed.
"We know what we have out there is not enough, and we are currently working to mobilize to make sure that we have even more available for the community," Spencer said.
Most roads and alleys were cleared this week and are now passable, officials said Saturday. Residents are encouraged to contact city officials if they see areas that remain blocked by debris.
City crews will be off work Sunday and during the Memorial Day holiday on Monday but will return to cleanup and assessment efforts Tuesday.
"And we do ask that the volunteers in the community, really, really try to do the same," Spencer added. "We need you for the long haul here, and we want to make sure everyone is getting some rest."
Officials said the 9 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew remains in effect in St. Louis Police Districts 5 and 6.
Thefts
Spencer said while officials have heard about people stealing bricks from homes and businesses, reports have been limited.
"Our brick is phenomenal," Spencer said. "(St. Louis has) arguably the best brick in the world, so of course people are going to be taking advantage of that. We are working to make sure the community stays as safe as possible through this."
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Tracy said Saturday there have been more wire theft reports than those of bricks being stolen. Ten people have been arrested in six incidents for stealing wires from buildings since the tornado hit, he said.
"There were two incidents Friday night where we were able to arrest four people for wire theft," Tracy said. "When it comes to the bricks, we've got to be able to differentiate whether it's cleanup, or if people are actually taking the bricks. If they are, we'll address that issue."
He encouraged people to call police if they learn about bricks being stolen.
Individuals with unmet needs are encouraged to contact United Way by dialing 2-1-1 or visit www.211helps.org. The American Red Cross can also be reached at 1-800-733-2767.
This story has been updated.
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