Governor Kehoe Announces Activation of the Missouri National Guard to Support Tornado Recovery Operations in St. Louis
MAY 24, 2025
Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe announced that the Missouri National Guard will activate and deploy up to 41 engineering personnel to the affected area of St. Louis to support the key mission of debris removal and sorting to support tornado recovery operations.
Members of the 35th Engineer Brigade are preparing to execute missions next week in support of the City’s recovery timeline. Service members are scheduled to be on site starting on Wednesday, May 28.
"Through this deployment, the State of Missouri is further assisting the City of St. Louis in recovery efforts following the devastating May 16 storms," Governor Kehoe said. "We are thankful for the efforts of the men and women of the Missouri National Guard in this mission. Recovery will take time, but our state agencies remain committed to partnering with local officials to assist affected residents and businesses."
Since Tuesday, May 20, a Missouri National Guard Liaison Officer (LNO) has been assisting the City of St. Louis with evaluating and advising local officials on potential appropriate missions. This deployment follows the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) receiving a request for the debris removal assistance from the City of St. Louis last night. Debris removal is a key element following a large scale disaster as it allows other aspects of the recovery to proceed.
The Engineer Task Force will provide a Liaison Officer as a part of the County Emergency Operations Center team, and an Emergency Debris Clearance & Emergency Route Construction Package. Engineer Teams on ground will support residential debris collection sites in St. Louis City, along with assistance in sorting, loading, transporting, and removal of debris from collection sites to the landfill. The operations currently plan for four sites, with additional details of exact locations still being finalized between the city officials and emergency managers.
Missouri National Guard Engineer support is in partnership with St. Louis Parks, Recreation and Forestry and other city entities for operating fenced residential debris collection sites in St. Louis City-affected storm areas. The four city owned sites will each have one of the medium clearance teams to augment on-site city-managed operations. Daily operations of the four sites will occur from 8:00am -7:00pm seven days per week.
National Guard support is currently planned for a two-week operating period commencing on May 28 through June 11, at which time support operations will transition to City- or SEMA-sourced long-term support solution.
Governor Kehoe first declared a State of Emergency on March 14, 2025, through Executive Order 25-19 in preparation for severe weather. The State of Emergency declaration in Executive Order 25-19 was subsequently extended by Executive Order 25-22 and Executive Order 25-23.
SEMA continues to coordinate with local officials and volunteer and faith-based partners to identify needs and assist impacted families and individuals. Missourians with unmet needs are encouraged to contact United Way by dialing 2-1-1 or www.211helps.org or the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767.
For additional resources and information about disaster recovery in Missouri, including general clean-up information, housing assistance, and mental health services, visit recovery.mo.gov.
###