Recover. Rebuild. Renew.

In the week after the May 16, 2025 tornado that devastated St. Louis, photographers R.J. Hartbeck, Tyler Small, and Michael Thomas documented the communities hit the hardest.

Community
Visuals By Tyler Small, R.J. Hartbeck, Michael Thomas

In the week after the May 16, 2025 tornado that devastated St. Louis, residents, community activists, and leaders worked to help people and neighborhoods recover. Photographers R.J. Hartbeck, Tyler Small, and Michael Thomas documented that moment in time in St. Louis history.

Tornado recovery efforts are ongoing; learn how to get involved and help St. Louis rebuild.

In the hours after the tornado dissipated, community organizers, volunteers, and residents were already working hard to help people in its path by tarping roofs and moving debris. Photo by R.J. Hartbeck.
Homes damaged by the EF3 tornado that struck St. Louis on May 16, 2025. Photo by R.J. Hartbeck.
Many local businesses were affected by the tornado, with some sustaining minor damage and others closed indefinitely. Photo by R.J. Hartbeck.
A view of Fountain Park, named for the fountain pictured here, flanked by damaged homes and trees. Photo by R.J. Hartbeck.
Mature trees across St. Louis were uprooted during the tornado, some causing additional damage. Photo by R.J. Hartbeck.
JANICE PETTY STANDS ON HER BACK PORCH IN THE O'FALLON NEIGHBORHOOD IN NORTH ST. LOUIS. Photo by Michael Thomas.
Companies and organizations across St. Louis contributed how they could. Rung For Women, for example, ended up setting up a relief station near West Florissant and Fair avenues. Photo by Michael Thomas.
Action St. Louis, FortheCultureSTL, 4theVille, and Invest STL worked together to launch The People's Response, a relief hub at the O’Fallon Park Recreation Center YMCA, organizing volunteers and donations for the community. Photo by Michael Thomas.
Donated sheets of plywood and lumber to help mend damaged homes as best as possible are sorted at The People's Response relief hub. Photo by Michael Thomas.
Outside the O’Fallon Park Recreation Center YMCA, donations are sorted and bagged by volunteers with The People's Response. Photo by Tyler Small.
People of all ages and backgrounds worked together under an array of pop-up tents and in smaller groups across the grounds at The People's Response. Photo by Tyler Small.
To ferry bulk items like toilet paper or diapers from one location to another on-site, lines of volunteers pass items down the chain, one by one, working together at The People's Response. Photo by Michael Thomas.
For those who couldn't volunteer, The People’s Response had a drive-up donation line at the O’Fallon Park YMCA. Photo by Tyler Small.
Rung For Women CEO Leslie Gill and her team help run a relief hub near West Florissant and Fair avenues. Photo by Michael Thomas.
Kevin Jackson of Maryland Heights grills hot dogs at the intersection of West Florissant and Red Bud avenues for folks in the O'Fallon neighborhood. Photo by Michael Thomas.
A week after the tornado hit St. Louis, nurse practitioner Laconte Randle of St. Charles was going door to door and asking residents if they needed help. Photo by Michael Thomas.
A week after the tornado, Fallon Artis, owner of snack shop Lanett Good Eats at the intersection of West Florissant and Harris avenues, hosts students from Leonard’s Barber College in the Kingsway East neighborhood, who are offering free haircuts to folks in the community. Photo by Michael Thomas.
Just five days after a tornado devastated the St. Louis community, people from across the region came together at City Foundry STL to help residents impacted by the storm. Photo by Tyler Small.
The open-air event brought out more than 3,500 St. Louisans and raised $15,000 through raffle tickets and artist tips, and another $5,000 from on-site restaurants and bars. Proceeds were evenly distributed among five nonprofits, which either sustained storm damage or have launched rapid recovery response efforts: ForTheCultureSTL, Craft Alliance, MADE, LOVEtheLOU, and the St. Louis Early Childhood Tornado Response Team. Photo by Tyler Small.
In addition to raising money for these nonprofits, the event served as a donation drive for the St. Louis Early Childhood Tornado Response Team. Photo by Tyler Small.
Kids of all ages helped their parents unload boxes of diapers, baby wipes, toilet paper, formula, non-perishable food and snacks, cleaning supplies, and other essentials for childcare providers affected by the tornado. Photo by Tyler Small.
The event was the first in a series that reoccured every Wednesday in June to help tornado victims. Photo by Tyler Small.

Join the Story