FEMA is assessing last weeks storm damage in Laclede and other counties

Governor Parson says severe storms that swept through Laclede County and 18 other Missouri counties on May 3 and 4 left a trail of destruction so extensive that he’s working to request a federal disaster declaration. Parson says the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with the state to do initial damage assessments in 19 counties.

Last week, two rounds of severe storms blasted southern Missouri with damaging winds over 90 miles per hour, baseball-size hail, and two tornadoes, causing widespread damage to electric power systems. The National Weather Service has confirmed the storms included two tornadoes in southeast Missouri – one in Marston and Carter County.