Mayor Cara Spencer on Tuesday addressed findings of an external investigation into the city’s response to the disastrous May 16 tornado, saying it identifies “cascading failures at almost every level leading up to and even after the storm.”
The Carmody MacDonald law firm wrote the investigative report, which delivers a blistering review of city failures in response to the storm that killed five people, injured 38, damaged thousands of buildings and will require more than $1billion for cleanup, repairs and rebuilding.
It found the design and implementation of the city’s siren equipment made it unnecessarily difficult — if not impossible — to fully activate the siren system during the storm. Ineffective testing protocols prevented city officials from detecting the deficiencies before the storm, investigators found.
“The report itself will serve as a guidepost to help us understand the deeper problems within the emergency management system, and we’re going to use it to help us resolve these issues,” Spencer said. “I called for this investigation the day following the tornado because I want to get to the bottom of these issues.”
Spencer segued away from the report to chastise the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for its Aug. 17 editorial written by Lynn Schmidt titled, “The tornado devastated Black neighborhoods. Where was the BLM organization?“
Despite early storm warnings, the city’s emergency management staff was at an off-site workshop and away from the agency’s siren equipment when the devastating tornado tore through the city.
The report noted that a test of the siren system determined 22 of the 60 sirens in the city weren’t working, including in several north St. Louis neighborhoods that were heavily damaged by the tornado. Many people in those neighborhoods — some who lost loved ones — said they didn’t hear any sirens go off.
Investigators said key protocols were not followed, “leading to widespread confusion, disorganization, and operational breakdown across City Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) and among responding agencies.”
Early in her statements, Spencer segued away from the report to chastise the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for an Aug. 17 commentary written by Lynn Schmidt titled, “The tornado devastated Black neighborhoods. Where was the BLM organization?”
“I’m really disappointed in the editorial on that matter,” Spencer said after acknowledging those involved in the rescue and cleanup efforts. “There’s been so many members of the Black Lives Matter community who stepped up, particularly when city government wasn’t able to serve this community in [the ways] it needed. Our community came together in a way I have not seen in my lifetime. … We had partners who stepped in [during] our time of need, and I’m really grateful to everyone.”
The investigative report highlighted “human failures” and singled out Sarah Russell, the head of CEMA whom Spencer placed on leave after the storm for failing to update emergency response plans as needed and criticized her leadership afterward.
When asked Tuesday about Russell’s future as CEMA head, Spe ncer said the time was not right to answer that question or comment on “personnel issues.” However, on Wednesday, the Department of Public Safety confirmed that Russell no longer leads CEMA as of the previous day.
The report also shows progress has been made in correcting some of the biggest CEMA issues. For example, Spencer noted how the siren system now automatically activates when the National Weather Service issues an alert, which will limit the risk of human error.
The city also has fixed its signal relay equipment — which helps coordinate emergency alerts — along with many of the broken sirens. The report says the city also is working to make the entire system “functional and reliable in ways it has not been for years.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
Russell should be fired immediately. She scheduled a conference on the day when severe weather was predicted. I guess Russell didn’t watch the Weather Channel or watch the local news channels who predicted severe weather for May 16th.