By Carl Manning, American Red Cross

As Jefferson City, Missouri, Mayor Carrie Tergin was getting ready for bed on May 22, 2019, she heard the tornado warning sirens going off. But, like most people in her town, she wasn’t overly concerned.

“Most people for years had felt safe because of the surrounding hills and the river nearby, but this time it happened,” she recalled on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the EF3 tornado that first hit Eldon and then quickly moved north to strike the heart of Missouri’s capitol city.

After the tornado struck homes and businesses that night, Carrie was swamped with telephones calls from police, fire and emergency officials, along with individuals wanting to know what had happened.

“People were in a state of shock, but the first thing for everyone was taking care of their neighbors. The first thought was concern that everybody was safe,” she said. “We were very fortunate that no lives were lost.”

One of the first organizations to respond was the American Red Cross, who worked with its many partners in the coming days of the disaster recovery operations.

“We needed all the organizations to come together,” Mayor Tergin recalls. “The Red Cross was prepared and was made for days like that. It was extremely useful to the success of the recovery with the distribution of aid and making sure things got done.”

Shortly after the storm struck, Pam Protzman and other Red Cross volunteers worked with local partners to set up a shelter quickly at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School for those impacted in her hometown.

“My goal was to get people out of the rain and into a safe shelter and get them dry. It was past midnight,” Pam said.

By the next day, the school has been fully transformed into a safe place to stay with sleeping areas, showers, food, water and medical care. Workers at the school stepped up to provide food from the school cafeteria for those first days.

In the coming days, the Red Cross and its numerous partners provided the assistance needed to help those impacted, providing more than 1,000 overnight shelter stays, more than 900 meals and hundreds of personal care kits.

Many people showed up at the shelter with their pets, which weren’t allowed to stay there. Rather than leave their pets, people often would sleep in their cars with them or simply strike out on their own.

So, to accommodate those with pets, the Humane Society of Missouri based in St. Louis brought a kennel on wheels and parked it outside the shelter entrance, providing 36 living areas for pets plus food and medical attention if needed.

“It was imperative to have partners during the response,” said Rebecca Gordon, executive director of the Red Cross Central and Northern Missouri Chapter that includes Jefferson City.

The most extensive damage from the tornado was in Jefferson City, where 33 people were injured and 516 homes were damaged, along with 80 government buildings and 82 businesses.

While the damage in nearby Eldon was much less, the Red Cross also was quick to provide a safe place for those displaced there utilizing the help of its partners. The tornado had cut a path through the town, uprooting trees and damaging homes and buildings.

Red Cross volunteer Tom Shands and his team quickly set up a shelter at the Eldon Community Center and for more than two weeks he worked as the night shelter manager. For him, one of the important things was listening to those staying there.

“The more they talk about their losses, the less the trauma is pinned up inside them and the easier it is to recover,” he said.

Lincoln University in Jefferson City provided space to set up a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) where the Red Cross and its numerous partners, from state agencies to private charities, could provide one-stop service for those in need. A MARC also was opened at the Church of the Nazarene in Eldon. A wide range of support was available, such as emotional and spiritual care, information about housing, medical and financial assistance and replacing official documents like driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

Among those helping at both MARCs was the Adventist Community Services, whose members served as ambassadors for those seeking assistance. Dressed in yellow shirts, they escorted clients through the process to ensure they received everything they needed.

One major partner for the Red Cross in Jefferson City over the years has been the United Way of Central Missouri. After the tornado, they helped coordinate volunteers and handled spontaneous donations such as food and clothing.

“We’ve had a longstanding partnership with the Red Cross and we are proud to lend support when any tragedy strikes. We are lucky to have the Red Cross here to help,” said Lee Knernschield, president of United Way of Central Missouri.

Some partnerships were spontaneous, like the one created by 11-year-old Garrett Sommerer. With the help of his mother, Heather Irvin, he sold five gallons of lemonade at a corner stand near his home. He raised $320 which he brought to Thomas Jefferson Middle School shelter to donate to the Red Cross.  It was the type of generosity seen throughout the community as residents worked to rebuild their lives and took time to help those in need.

One of the greatest strengths of the Red Cross is collaborating with partner organizations to provide assistance to those affected by disaster. By working together with local agencies, the Red Cross efficiently delivered critical recovery services to those who needed it most in the aftermath of the central Missouri tornado incident of 2019.

If you would like to become a Red Cross volunteer to help those in need during times of disaster, go to https://www.redcross.org/volunteer.