ST. LOUIS – At least five people are dead and 38 others are injured after powerful storms, including a likely EF-3 tornado, tore through St. Louis and surrounding areas Friday.
Now, questions are mounting about whether the city’s emergency sirens worked or failed to sound before the deadly weather struck.
Some St. Louis City residents told affiliate KTVI that they did not hear tornado sirens ahead of the storm, raising their concerns. Coincidentally, Friday’s storms came just one day after the city’s Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) conducted a series of siren tests to evaluate its outdoor warning systems.
As recovery efforts continue, many in the St. Louis community are hoping for transparency and accountability regarding the city’s emergency alert systems.
City officials were pressed about the sirens on back-to-back days in news conferences on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, St. Louis CEMA Commissioner Sarah Russell briefly addressed the issue during a Q&A session with reporters. She emphasized the city’s immediate focus was on saving lives, but acknowledged the siren situation is under review.
One reporter specifically asked Russell to elaborate on whether or why sirens didn’t go off. “We’re going to look into that. We have been focused on life safety, and we are continuing to focus on life safety right now. But that [the siren situation] will be looked into.”
The reporter then asked, “How many sirens didn’t go off?” Russell replied, “That is still something that is being looked into.”
The same reporter then pressed further, “Some [possibly didn’t go off], but you don’t really know the extent?” Russell replied, “I don’t have the information right now. We’re focusing on the ongoing life-saving issues.”
Then came one more follow-up reporter question: “Was there anything from yesterday’s testing that could have signaled a problem?” Russell replied, “No. And that testing was for engineers, but again, we didn’t see any significant issues with that. We tested the sirens 5-6 times throughout the afternoon, and they performed as they should have.”
On Saturday, Mayor Cara Spencer was asked for any clarification around the city’s siren situation. She called it a “serious” concern and promised a full evaluation.
Spencer replied, “This is a serious issue. We are taking it seriously. We are looking at our internal protocols, looking to see what happened [and] what might not have happened. We are continuing to do an evaluation, but that is an important process here. We are focusing right now on the response and making sure that we are addressing human safety at this point. But that is absolutely on our radar to be addressing, and we’ll have answers on that soon.”
More rounds of severe weather are expected in the St. Louis region this week. It remains to be seen if the city will provide further information about the sirens or outline any specific siren preparations for the potential severe weather threats.
