In the aftermath of the tornado that struck Jefferson City in 2019, Ann Bax was told it would take two to five years to rebuild.
The United Way president, CPO and chairwoman of the Long-Term Recovery Committee said she remembers officials from federal and state agencies telling her that's how long it would take to get back to normal.
"I didn't want to believe that," Bax said. "I wanted to say we're going to do this faster and get our disaster survivors whole quicker than that, but we've seen it to be true. It takes a long time, and there's no cookie cutter path to recovery."
Addressing physical scars
Two years after disaster struck, there's still work to be done, areas to address and funding to receive.
In addition to the roughly $1.5 million in FEMA reimbursement for tornado and flooding damage in Jefferson City, new grant money is about to become available that is meant to address area housing.
Rachel Senzee, neighborhood services specialist, said Cole County will be receiving a roughly $7 million disaster relief Community Development Block Grant.
"It's basically secondary relief two years later," she said. "Government works slow, so it takes a while for those mechanisms to work. But in reality, that's probably a good thing."
Senzee said this type of disaster relief is triggered by a certain level of individual disaster claims, which is why it comes later.
The funds will go toward addressing housing and housing adjacent needs, which Senzee said refers to projects such as street lights, sidewalks and stormwater projects.
The programs include areas for downpayment assistance, new construction of both affordable single-family housing and multi-family rental housing, and housing rehabilitation projects.
"Anything that's going to support the housing development or housing rehabilitation that's occurring," she said.
The natural disaster that struck May 22, 2019, damaged more than 150 housing units within the city, many of which were rentals and some of which were located within the historic East Capitol Avenue neighborhood.
One of the lasting impacts that can't be qualified is how many of those people didn't stay in the area, said Sonny Sanders, Planning and Public Services director.
"They can get up and move; a lot of them are used to moving," he said. "So, we have no idea of what families went to live with their family in Columbia or St. Louis or Kansas City or even in Cole County. (How many) just moved out of the area and haven't come back."
Since the tornado, Jefferson City staff tried to keep track of construction permits related to tornado destruction, asking people when they filed the permits whether it was related to the 2019 tornado.
Sanders said, to date, the Jefferson City Building Regulations Division has issued 61 commercial construction permits and 145 residential permits. Combined, these accounted for more than $13.5 million of work, with more than $11 million of that related to commercial construction.
Sanders said another 101 structures have been demolished, creating a loss of 138 housing units from before the May 2019 housing unit to now. In addition to those, city staff have estimated one large commercial structure and less than 10 residential structures were destroyed beyond repair and have yet to be demolished, while another 37 residential structures have yet to be repaired with an estimated cost of $1.15 million.
One apartment complex that saw substantial damage was the Capital City Apartments, owned by the Jefferson City Housing Authority. The Elm Street apartment complex included 44 low-income apartments. One building needed to be rebuilt, and the other units received minor damage like broken windows.
"We have one building that was basically taken down to the bones," Housing Authority Director Michelle Wessler said.
However, all units are back up and running, she said.
The disaster relief Community Development Block Grant funding went to the state, which will distribute funding to the county and city level, and Senzee said she's working on the proposal that specifies how Jefferson City will spend the available funds. Based on the HUD-approved action plan, which can be viewed on the Missouri Department of Economic Development website, the money will be available for housing projects and assistance that affects homeowners, renters, landlords and property owners, Senzee said.
Depending on the project somebody wants to use the funding for, they'll either apply with the state or the city directly. The city can also use some of the funds for projects.
"It just depends on what it is they're going for," Senzee said. "A lot of new development, new construction, they're going to apply directly to (the Department of Economic Development) because they're going to try to layer the opportunity with the low-income housing tax credits. That's good because then that's just another layer of funding for affordable housing."
Senzee said it's important to emphasize the funding is available for low- to moderate-income situations.
"I don't like that they call it low to moderate income because people automatically go to the poverty realm," she said. "One person would qualify if they made at or less than $42,950."
Senzee said she doesn't know exactly when people will be able to start applying for money, but her estimate would be sometime in August or September.
She said people who have projects that may be eligible should start putting together information, such as cost estimates, so when the funding is freed up, they can contact the city's Department of Planning and Protective Services to find out what program, whether it's city or state, would best work for them.
The tornado's destruction was not limited to businesses and home - local landmarks were hit, too.
The Missouri State Penitentiary stood in the path of the tornado, which made it's way through the side of the property that borders East Capitol Avenue, past the historic site and through the other side.
"You can see where it went through, and they have put up the chain link fence there now," said Diane Gillespie, executive director of the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Then Housing Unit 1 and Housing Unit 3 each had roof damage and some windows blown out. Housing Unit 4 pretty much had the roof torn off of it. Then the tornado exited through the north wall into the river."
Housing Unit 1, she said, had a large hole in the roof and Housing Unit 3 had several small holes. Both units have been repaired at this point.
Housing Unit 4 is still being repaired and all of the housing units still need windows replaced.
Bidding for the roof is currently open, but Gillespie said she isn't sure what the plan is for the windows.
Gillespie said the issue with completing those repairs comes back to funding. The main funding source for repairs and site preservation comes from tours given on site, but the effort hasn't seen a normal year since 2018, she said.
Along with the tornado, the site experienced hailstorm damage and the global pandemic cut last year's tour season short.
However, this year is going well so far.
"We have school groups coming back again," Gillespie said. "We have a lot of school groups in the spring time. They're heading in the right direction."
Despite the damage, Gillespie said there was one positive note from the night of the tornado.
"The saving grace is that we had a tour there earlier in the evening (May 22, 2019), but fortunately we did not have people on site with a tour," she said.
A new awareness
While the physical scars are healing, officials agree there's more to recovery than what's on the surface.
Mayor Carrie Tergin said the event is still very emotional for many people in the community.
"I don't think any of us could say that we don't see a weather forecast with potential for severe weather and don't think of that night and that event," she said. "It can happen, and it did happen."
The silver lining, Tergin said, has been seeing the community come together to rebuild and there's reasons to celebrate.
"I remember right after the tornado how many mayors of other cities and people who reached out to me who had been through a disaster like this and said to me, 'This is a long-term thing and long-term means years. Don't expect this to be quick,'" she said.
Sanders agreed with the idea that full recovery is a ways away if it comes at all.
"There's a lot that's not going to be normal," he said. "A lot of structures were destroyed and aren't going to be rebuilt the way they were. There's going to be these long-term changes, but a lot of the area is rebuilding."
Both agreed people seem more aware of the potential for tornadoes as they're rebuilding and in developing a plan for what to do if another one were to come.
"I think there's more awareness of safety," Sanders said. "One thing that came out of it is we did not issue building permits for roofs and some of the structural things we do now. We were more prepared when the hailstorm came that we knew, 'OK, you should not repair a roof that has busted rafters.'"
Tergin said people also seem to take tornado drills more seriously now because the community went through the tornado.
"When we have the statewide tornado drill, we do the drill. We don't just say, 'Oh, you go downstairs,'" she said. "You practice it. You want to know exactly where to go, and it's different if you're at home, if you're at work, if you're out at a store, if you're in the car out on the road. You have to think that way."
While the community may be able to physically rebuild, Bax said, the trauma experienced will likely never go away. For instance, she said, the anniversary can be triggering for some people.
"I think it changes you forever. The physical devastation and then also knowing the lives that were torn apart. I don't think you ever forget that," she said. "It makes you appreciate better what we have and maybe makes our community a little bit closer and more willing to work together.
"There are people who are still hurting, still trying to recover," she said. "Every anniversary is a triggering event for those people who were directly impacted. It never goes away."
Check out our past tornado coverage from the immediate aftermath through the one-year anniversary.