鈥淚s this the house I used to play in when I was little?鈥 asks Danielle Austin, as she pulls out her aunt鈥檚 dress while digging through the rubble of her uncle Norbert Thompson鈥檚 collapsed two-story house on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Kingsway East neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. The home has been in the family for three generations, but Thompson (above, with his dog Oreo) does not have insurance on it.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 The May 16 tornado battered blocks in north 最新杏吧原创 where more than 70% of homeowners likely don鈥檛 have insurance, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis of U.S. Census data.
鈥淲e are just still processing everything. I inherited this house three months ago from my dad and I don鈥檛 have insurance yet,鈥 said Fatima Myles, who walks through what鈥檚 left of the home with her fiance, Allen Franklin, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. 鈥淎s soon as I made it to the basement, the house was gone,鈥 said Franklin, staring down at the basement where he survived the storm. Myles鈥 father bought the house in 2018 from the city鈥檚 land bank for $200 and began renovating it.
"Somehow, I will rebuild my family home right back here," said homeowner Arletta Bonds, who takes an axe to a radiator in hopes of making some money on the scrap metal before thieves steal it on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in the remains of her destroyed home in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. Bonds owns two homes and does not have insurance on either. She inherited one from her mother, and bought the other from a neighbor.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be a burden to anyone,鈥 said Arletta Bonds, who broke down after accepting fried rice from a pastor who was doing outreach on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. Since the May 16 tornado destroyed the two properties she owns, Bonds has been staying with her daughter and wants to help her make her rent.
鈥淚 did everything right. I never missed a payment,鈥 said Betty Mitchell, center, who prays with Pastor Pamela Paul, left, and her daughter Stephanie Brooks on Thursday, May 22, 2025, outside Mitchell鈥檚 tornado-damaged home in the Greater Ville neighborhood. Mitchell said that when she finished paying off her mortgage a few years ago, her coverage lapsed because she didn鈥檛 realize she was no longer paying her insurance bill. But then, she also learned she couldn鈥檛 afford the higher rates.
Jimmie Robinson removes debris from his aunt鈥檚 tornado-damaged house on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. His aunt, Climmie Robinson Lawuary, said she has lived in the home on and off for 30 years, but she has no homeowners insurance. 鈥淩eality is setting in. I don鈥檛 know what lies ahead,鈥 Lawuary said.
Siblings Aaliyah, 22, Ethan, 13, and Samantha Williams, 14, prepare for bedtime in their parents鈥 car outside their tornado-damaged home on May 22 in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. The children are part of a 14-person family that has been without power since a tornado torn their roof clean off, and their parents don鈥檛 have home insurance. The family members have been sleeping in the cab of their dad鈥檚 long-haul truck, in the family car, on cots, and on the floor of the house鈥檚 main level. They are extra worried that their home will eventually be condemned after their house received a red sticker saying it is not livable.
Norbert Thompson pets his dog Oreo underneath a shade tree as relatives dig through the rubble of his home on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Kingsway East neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. Thompson survived the EF-3 tornado that ripped through his neighborhood by seeking shelter in the collapsed two-story brick home. The home has been in the family for three generations, but Thompson does not have insurance.
Outreach workers with Leonard Baptist Church Keith Phillips, far right, and Fatima Myles, far left, watch as 2-year-old Ava, front right, reaches out for a hot meal outside Myles鈥 sister鈥檚 home on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. After Myles鈥 home was destroyed in the May 16 tornado, one of her children鈥檚 daycares put them up in a hotel for a week because the family does not have homeowners insurance.
The Post-Dispatch found that 1,175 structures, more than聽half聽of those declared unsafe, were likely or definitely vacant before the May 16 tornado.
Norbert Thompson pets his dog Oreo underneath a shade tree as relatives dig through the rubble of his home on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Kingsway East neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. Thompson survived the EF-3 tornado that ripped through his neighborhood by seeking shelter in the collapsed two-story brick home. The home has been in the family for three generations, but Thompson does not have insurance.
鈥淚s this the house I used to play in when I was little?鈥 asks Danielle Austin, as she pulls out her aunt鈥檚 dress while digging through the rubble of her uncle Norbert Thompson鈥檚 collapsed two-story house on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Kingsway East neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. The home has been in the family for three generations, but Thompson (above, with his dog Oreo) does not have insurance on it.
鈥淲e are just still processing everything. I inherited this house three months ago from my dad and I don鈥檛 have insurance yet,鈥 said Fatima Myles, who walks through what鈥檚 left of the home with her fiance, Allen Franklin, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. 鈥淎s soon as I made it to the basement, the house was gone,鈥 said Franklin, staring down at the basement where he survived the storm. Myles鈥 father bought the house in 2018 from the city鈥檚 land bank for $200 and began renovating it.
鈥淚 did everything right. I never missed a payment,鈥 said Betty Mitchell, center, who prays with Pastor Pamela Paul, left, and her daughter Stephanie Brooks on Thursday, May 22, 2025, outside Mitchell鈥檚 tornado-damaged home in the Greater Ville neighborhood. Mitchell said that when she finished paying off her mortgage a few years ago, her coverage lapsed because she didn鈥檛 realize she was no longer paying her insurance bill. But then, she also learned she couldn鈥檛 afford the higher rates.
Siblings Aaliyah, 22, Ethan, 13, and Samantha Williams, 14, prepare for bedtime in their parents鈥 car outside their tornado-damaged home on May 22 in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. The children are part of a 14-person family that has been without power since a tornado torn their roof clean off, and their parents don鈥檛 have home insurance. The family members have been sleeping in the cab of their dad鈥檚 long-haul truck, in the family car, on cots, and on the floor of the house鈥檚 main level. They are extra worried that their home will eventually be condemned after their house received a red sticker saying it is not livable.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be a burden to anyone,鈥 said Arletta Bonds, who broke down after accepting fried rice from a pastor who was doing outreach on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. Since the May 16 tornado destroyed the two properties she owns, Bonds has been staying with her daughter and wants to help her make her rent.
Jimmie Robinson removes debris from his aunt鈥檚 tornado-damaged house on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. His aunt, Climmie Robinson Lawuary, said she has lived in the home on and off for 30 years, but she has no homeowners insurance. 鈥淩eality is setting in. I don鈥檛 know what lies ahead,鈥 Lawuary said.
Outreach workers with Leonard Baptist Church Keith Phillips, far right, and Fatima Myles, far left, watch as 2-year-old Ava, front right, reaches out for a hot meal outside Myles鈥 sister鈥檚 home on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. After Myles鈥 home was destroyed in the May 16 tornado, one of her children鈥檚 daycares put them up in a hotel for a week because the family does not have homeowners insurance.
"Somehow, I will rebuild my family home right back here," said homeowner Arletta Bonds, who takes an axe to a radiator in hopes of making some money on the scrap metal before thieves steal it on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in the remains of her destroyed home in the Greater Ville neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创. Bonds owns two homes and does not have insurance on either. She inherited one from her mother, and bought the other from a neighbor.
