DisastersSt. Louis hit by earthquake, heat wave, and cicadas

Published 9 June 2011

For residents of Missouri still struggling to resume their daily lives after a deadly tornado killed 141 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars in property, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reopened its Disaster Recovery Center in St. Louis county; working in conjunction with the Small Business Administration (SBA), FEMA will provide assist business owners and residents affected by the tornadoes by providing low interest loans for repairs to damaged or destroyed property; beleaguered residents suffered another blow on Tuesday as a small earthquake struck just outside of St. Louis; the earthquake was relatively minor and resulted in no deaths or injuries; the quake had a magnitude of 4.2 and its epicenter was located fifty miles southwest of St. Louis; the city is struggling to stay cool amidst record heat as they rebuild; on Monday temperatures soared to a record ninety-seven degrees

For residents of Missouri still struggling to resume their daily lives after a deadly tornado killed 141 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars in property, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reopened its Disaster Recovery Center in St. Louis County.

Working in conjunction with the Small Business Administration (SBA), FEMA will provide assist business owners and residents affected by the tornadoes by providing low interest loans for repairs to damaged or destroyed property.

Homeowners can apply for low-interest SBA disaster loans of up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate or loans of up to $40,000 to replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

In other news, beleaguered residents suffered another blow on Tuesday as a small earthquake struck just outside of St. Louis.

The earthquake was relatively minor and resulted in no deaths or injuries. The quake had a magnitude of 4.2 and its epicenter was located fifty miles southwest of St. Louis.

Darren Hildebrand, a resident of Sullivan, located near the epicenter, said the quake “felt like a truck hit the house.”

In addition, St. Louis residents are attempting to stay cool amidst record heat as they rebuild. On Monday temperatures soared to a record ninety-seven degrees.

On Tuesday forty-three cooling centers were opened in the city to help residents cool down. So far emergency workers have responded to twelve heat-related cases.

To make matters worse, the city has been inundated with a massive infestation of cicadas. The bugs are innocuous and will disappear in two weeks, but in the meantime their presence has made it difficult to stay outdoors.

The infestation comes as part of the cicada’s thirteen-year mating cycle.