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Black residents in St. Louis are calling attention to failed warning sirens and a lack of FEMA response after deadly tornadoes hit their community, Capital B reports.
Last week, an EF-3 tornado raged through St. Louis' Black neighborhoods. The tornado left five people, including three children, dead in collapsed buildings. Historic Black businesses, including the Harlem Tap Room, and thousands of buildings, homes, and schools, were damaged and destroyed.
Rapper and activist Antoine White, known as T-Dubb-O, said his wife and other residents in the area didn't receive any emergency alerts. No tornado sirens went off before the deaths and destruction.
In the wake of the latest tornado system, Black St. Louis residents are left to grapple with failed siren alerts, delayed FEMA response, and gutted federal programs on top of systemic racism.
“We’re sweeping up the ashes again,” White said. “We’re dealing with disasters every day, in the aftermath of Ferguson. We’re dealing with poverty on an everyday basis, lead-tainted water, and violence.”
“That all plays a role in people’s ability to navigate this disaster,” he added.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said the federal government failed to offer any recovery assistance to the city for four days after the tornadoes struck. FEMA is set to arrive in St. Louis on Wednesday (May 21).
Just weeks before the disaster, the agency's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which was designed to fund disaster-resistant housing and infrastructure, was cut by the Trump administration. The move eliminates nearly $1 billion in funding for Black and low-income neighborhoods.
St. Louis' emergency management agency has been aware of gaps in siren coverage since at least 2020, when residents began reporting about dead zones. Still, roughly half of the city's North City neighborhood reported hearing no alerts during the latest system of tornadoes. St. Louis' NotifySTL system is touted as a backup for aging sirens, but relies on smartphone access. Many Black residents in St. Louis lack reliable internet and smartphones.
“The system is continuing to fail people,” White said.
Residents are without roofs as more severe storms are expected this week. White said it's the sense of community that's helping residents grapple with natural disasters and systemic failures.
“We’ve seen some of the most treacherous neighborhoods in the city come together. It’s a lot of gang treaties that’s happening under the scenes that people aren’t talking about. A lot of unification,” he said. “It’s not an organization or the government doing this work. It’s the everyday community.”
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