Cleanup continues in communities hit hard by last Friday’s severe weather that produced four tornadoes in southeast Missouri – a region that Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, represents. Damage assessments are being conducted in 9 of the 10 counties he represents in hopes of a major federal disaster declaration request.
Bean told Show Me Today he’s been working around the clock since Friday morning checking up on constituents.
“I mean we just had a widespread event that night that covered so many counties,” he said. The twelve fatalities that we lost in the state of Missouri, seven came from my district.”
Bean’s district covers Butler, Carter, Dunlin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Oregon, Pemiscot, Ripley, Stoddard, and Wayne Counties.
More than 360 houses were destroyed, 366 sustained major damage, and over 1,000 have minor damage statewide, according to initial damage assessments. At the height of the storm, more than 140,000 Missouri homes and businesses were without power, and 101 roads were closed due to debris, flooding, and structural damage.
“There were several homes just destroyed; we were looking at,” explained Bean. “I asked some of those community leaders, I said the people here, are they in shelters? Where are they at that didn’t have injuries? They said, ‘Oh no, they’re already with friends and families, they’re not in shelters.’ That shows how strong southeast Missouri is.”
— Jason Bean for Senate (@BeanSenate) March 16, 2025
Following the storms, Bean said Gov. Mike Kehoe came to southeast Missouri to help assess storm damage.
“We had some needs in Carter County. He got right on the phone,” Bean said. “I was talking to their sheriff and, you know, we were able to facilitate those needs and get them what they need through Convoy of Hope. So, you know, once again, it’s what do we need. Of course, the main focus was what do we do to take care of these people? Lives have been lost. What do we do?”
Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and local emergency management officials will survey and verify damage.
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