Agencies will assist with long-term needs following May 16 tornado
Reggie and Deborah McMurtry were at home when a tornado ripped through their Greater Ville neighborhood in north St. Louis.
Reggie McMurtry saw a TV news report that the tornado was sighted less than a mile from their home along North Newstead Avenue near Natural Bridge. They had seconds to act.
“We ran to the basement, and like 20 seconds later it came down,” he said.
The tornado that tore across the St. Louis area on May 16 reached EF-3 intensity and a mile in width, with maximum winds up to 152 mph, according to the National Weather Service’s local forecast office. It started in Clayton and tracked for nearly 23 miles through northern parts of St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi River and dissipating near Edwardsville.
Five people were killed and about three dozen were injured. About 5,000 structures were hit and the initial damage estimate is about at $1.6 billion. In the city of St. Louis, hundreds of homes were completely destroyed.
The McMurtrys, members of St. Peter Claver Parish, were trapped for two days. The front porch of their brick home had crumbled, and the back was blocked with a mess of tree limbs and power lines. Emergency responders and neighbors helped clear the debris.
When they were finally freed on Sunday, the McMurtrys headed straight to Mass. For the time being, the couple is staying at another house they own in Bellefontaine Neighbors. Several days after the storm, they stopped by St. Peter Claver to check in with their pastor, Father Scott Scheiderer.
“It’s been breathtaking. Overwhelming,” Deborah McMurtry said.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis is among numerous organizations assisting with recovery efforts throughout the St. Louis area. Catholic Charities already received more than 1,500 requests for assistance; that number is expected to grow as damages continue to be assessed.
Catholic Charities also has been working with its ministry sites, some of which had damage or lost power from the storm.
“Our Disaster Services Team has been engaged since the very beginning,” Catholic Charities president and CEO Jared Bryson said in a statement. “We are providing critical support — from food and water to mental health care, language interpretation and coordination with other local and state agencies. We are here for the long haul. This is what we are called to do: walk with people through their most difficult days and help them find a path forward.”
The Archdiocese of St. Louis will hold a special collection at Masses May 24-25 or May 31-June 1 to benefit those affected by the most recent tornado. Funds collected will be distributed through Catholic Charities.
“Many of those most affected by this disaster live in some of the poorest parts of our community — areas already burdened by hardship and scarcity,” Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski said in a letter announcing the collection. “As they strive to rebuild their lives, we must meet them with dignity, compassion, and unwavering support. In these dark hours where our neighbors cry out in need, let us also be the hands and feet of Christ, offering them tangible support and hope.”
Help in the midst of disaster
Carole Johnson’s home was among several houses in the historic Lewis Place neighborhood of St. Louis that sustained damage. Her roof will likely need to be replaced, along with repairs to her chimney, windows and fence.
But Johnson has an optimistic outlook; she knows the damage could have been worse, and she’s thankful to be alive.
“I’m feeling very blessed,” she said.
The day after the storm, Johnson headed over to the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry across from the former Visitation/St. Ann Shrine, which she helps coordinate. The pantry is one of several sites operated by the St. Josephine Bakhita Parish conference.
With the power out, volunteers needed to quickly distribute any perishable items. They turned to Vincentian Father Dan Thiess, spiritual director for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul St. Louis Council and chaplain for Catholic Charities, who delivered sandwiches to a tornado recovery distribution site in St. Louis. Frozen meat and other perishables were moved over to St. Vincent de Paul Church in Soulard to be distributed there.
“It was a huge parking lot, and they were giving away everything they could,” Johnson said. “I’m just so happy that food didn’t spoil. We’re just one instance of people giving things out and trying to help. It’s a city problem — not just one or two neighborhoods. There’s a large amount of neighborhoods suffering because of this.”
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul activated its disaster committee and has participated in daily update calls with city and state emergency management officials and other organizations.
“We were asked early on to stay out of the way, until things could be safe for volunteers to go into certain areas,” said Julie Komanetsky, director of Vincentian Services. “Vincentians want to help and are asking what they can do. The time will come, and we’re asking for their patience.”
The society is looking at helping with long-term housing solutions for those who have been displaced and will be calling on parish conferences to support that effort, Komanetsky said. Additionally, Vincentian volunteers will be asked to assist at Multi-Agency Resource Centers, which include recovery resources and support services for communities impacted by disasters, when the time comes.
Parish impact
Parishes in the path of the tornado sustained minor damage. The roof of the former St. Louis Catholic Academy school building on the campus of St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist, now St. Peter Claver Parish, was damaged. St. Matthew the Apostle in the Ville, also part of St. Peter Claver, had some minor damage.
Parish staff have been checking on parishioners who were impacted by the storm, pastor Father Scott Scheiderer said. At least two families, including the McMurtrys, lost their homes and several others have had damage. The parish is also looking at ways to help the greater community and is partnering with the Wellston Center to distribute supplies.
Parishioners celebrated Mass by candlelight Saturday night, and power had been restored by Sunday.
“It’s so important that we gather as one and unite as one in prayer, but we have to follow now the inspirations that come to us,” Father Scheiderer said. “Once we’ve been filled with that divine love and we have that commandment, then it’s like you’ve got to go forward. We are the hands, feet and heart of God. What can we do to help?”
How you can help
Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski has asked parishes in the archdiocese to hold a second collection at Masses on either the weekend of May 24-25 or May 31-June 1. The money collected will be used by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to provide assistance to those impacted by the severe weather. Donate through your parish collection or by visiting give.ccstl.org. Donations also may be mailed to Catholic Charities, P.O. Box 952393, St. Louis MO, 63195-2393 (note “Storm Relief STL” on check)
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Louis stabilizes families with shelter, food, clothes, beds and other basic necessities for living. To donate, visit www.svdpstl.org/donate.
Donate to the Wellston Center
The Wellston Center is collecting items to be distributed to several sites throughout the St. Louis area. Needed items include bottled water, tarps, clean clothing (including underwear for adults and children), diapers (adult and children), phone charging cords, towels and nonperishable food items.
Donations may be dropped off from 8 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-noon on Fridays at the center, 1705 Kienlen Ave. For more information, see www.wellstoncenter.org.
