ST. LOUIS—One week since a destructive EF-3 tornado slammed into St. Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer encouraged the community to take time and recharge after days of cleanup and recovery efforts.

“This is going to be a very long haul. We are going to need you for a very long time to come,” said Spencer.

Ameren crews will work into the weekend to restore electricity to the few thousand homes that were still without power on Friday, according to the company. The utility says it has replaced 650 power poles in the last week. With Ameren’s work wrapping up, the debris clean up and other recovery efforts will be stepped up.

FEMA has finished up its damage assessment, according to the mayor. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, and Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Missouri, were on hand for the briefing, both stressing the united effort among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to push the federal government to get the disaster declarations approved. 

Spencer says building inspectors have deemed over 600 structures to have severe damage and 500 to have moderate damage. She stressed that residents have to be cognizant of the health concerns out there. 

“We have asbestos. We have other contaminants when we have buildings that have been destroyed. Please utilize the PPE, the masks that we are putting out in to the community,” said Spencer.

While she applauds the community’s work with the recovery efforts, she said those curious to see the damage are slowing the response down.

“We have had some folks engaging in disaster tourism. This is not helpful. We ask you to refrain from that activity. It is clogging up our streets, clogging up the work we need to do. We need to be sure we are respectful of the folks that have lost so much,” she explained.

The city’s Collector of Revenue says the office is postponing real estate tax sales and personal property tax suits in the wake of the tornado. The collector says eligible homeowners who are in jeopardy of losing their home in a tax sale should call RETAF 314-535-5311 ext. 2006 or Collector of Revenue at 314-622-4105.