United States Missouri Tender

Governor Mike Parson this afternoon commended public safety and public works crews businesses and utilities and volunteers whose work is speeding Missouris recovery from a historic night of severe storms on May 22. In Jefferson City a team of volunteer engineers architects building inspectors and other trained professionals began assessing the estimated 500 homes and buildings believed to have sustained damage to determine which are safe and which should be evacuated. On Saturday the Missouri Structural Assessment and Visual Evaluation S.A.V.E. Coalition is expected to evaluate about 200 additional structures in Cole County that are reported to have been damaged.Of the first 321 structures reviewed today the S.A.V.E. Coalition reported the following78 Unsafe Severely damaged and cannot be occupied Red placard.60 Restricted Use A portion of the building is unsafe Yellow placard.183 Safe for Reentry Structurally safe to occupy Green placard.The S.A.V.E. team which works under the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency SEMA is assisting the Jefferson City Building Department. S.A.V.E. inspections are exterior inspections only. Inspectors look for structural damage such as partially collapsed buildings buildings moved off their foundations leaning buildings damage to supports falling hazards from chimneys or walls or other hazards like gas leaks or downed power lines.As they always do Missourians are meeting difficult circumstances with grit determination hard work and good will Governor Parson said. As I traveled the state yesterday and observed the devastation from Wednesday night storms I saw people hard at work and lending a hand everywhere I went. Missouri utilities and businesses have brought on extra workers and are working extended shifts public service workers are doing yeomans work and volunteers are making a difference. The results are clear. Missouri is making strong progress in our recovery from this challenge.Governor Parson pointed to progress in these other areasState Facilities Restoration The Missouri Office of Administration OA has taken the following actions so that all state employees can return to work on Tuesday begun cleanup efforts worked with contractors to repair damaged buildings and roofs worked with Ameren Missouri to restore power to several buildings recovered IT equipment from damaged buildings and identified temporary work spaces for employees in damaged buildings. At the Division of Employment Security building on Dunklin Street OA has assisted in moving employees to temporary work spaces and worked to repair the HVAC system as well as cleaning debris and helping Ameren Missouri restore power to the building.Power Restoration Efforts by Ameren Missouri and Three Rivers Electric Cooperative bolstered by additional crews have greatly reduced outages. Friday morning in the Jefferson City area Ameren Missouri was reporting about 3000 outages. Three Rivers Electric was reporting about 900 outages in Cole County and about 250 in Miller County. Power is expected to be completely restored Saturday. There were more than 14000 total outages on Thursday. Communications Restoration Verizon which sustained damage that affected 19 sites in the Jefferson City area has deployed three mobile cellular sites and a mobile community center at City Hall to support first responders and affected community members with wireless communications. The company is also providing a recharging station laptops with internet connectivity and an air-conditioned mobile facility to support survivors and volunteers. Its also offering unlimited calling text and data for customers impacted by the Missouri tornadoes.Communications Restoration U.S. Cellular whose service was affected by the storms in Miller Barton and Jasper counties deployed generators and partnered with another carrier to raise call capacity. Law Enforcement In addition to assisting local public safety agencies responding to calls for service search and rescue and security details in Jefferson City Golden City and Carl Junction the Missouri State Highway Patrol provided 21 of its law enforcement academy recruits to direct traffic in damaged areas of Jefferson City on Thursday. Also nine Patrol troopers assisted by handling regular police calls for service in the Jefferson City area on Thursday. Patrol aircraft have been assisting with aerial damage assessments. Governor Parson also urged Missourians to pay close attention to the weather over the Memorial Day weekend because of expected heavy rainfall that could worsen flooding and the potential for severe weather. The National Weather Service Kansas City Office is forecasting up to three inches of rain in northwest Missouri by early Saturday morning resulting in a Flash Flood Watch. The Kansas City NWS office is calling for a total of 4-6 inches of rainfall for parts of Missouri over the next seven days. This is now expected to push flooded rivers to higher levels than previously forecast.