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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said Monday that local communities are facing "devastation" and that the state will need Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding "at the least" after violent tornadoes took dozens of lives over the weekend.
Hawley, who spoke to Fox News Digital on the phone while walking through Missouri neighborhoods ravaged by the storms, emphasized that "a lot of people are hurting."
"These aren't just pieces of real estate," Hawley explained. "I mean, these are homes that people grew up in. These are neighborhoods where families raise their kids going back two, three, four, generations. I talked to one guy who had been in the neighborhood. His family had been in the neighborhood since his great-grandmother came there at the turn of the last century."
"Unless they're going to need to be rebuilt, the federal government is going to need to play a big role here with FEMA relief, disaster relief, and we want to get all of that as soon as possible," he said.
53 MILLION BRACE FOR SEVERE STORMS MONDAY WITH WIND GUSTS UP TO 80 MPH LIKELY
Fox Weather reported that the rating of the powerful storm was at least an EF-3, turning homes and businesses in its path into rubble.
At least 26 people were killed over the weekend across the region. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the death count in Kentucky alone sits at 19, and Hawley’s office said the count in Missouri was at least 7.
"We have lost 19 people to this weather event, each one a child of God who will be missed by their families," Beshear said in a post on X. "Please keep praying for them, the 10 individuals being treated at UK Hospital, and for everyone affected by these storms."
DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS CONTINUE IN KENTUCKY, MISSOURI IN WAKE OF DEADLY TORNADO OUTBREAK
Hawley's push for FEMA assistance comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has called for eliminating the agency as it exists today.
In addition to calling for federal assistance, Hawley was also quick to point out private insurance providers will need to step up and fairly pay out claims to assist with recovery efforts, noting he is separately "in the middle of an investigation of the major insurance companies."
"I talked to person after person today whose roofs have been ripped off, whose windows are bashed in," Hawley told Fox News Digital. "These people need to get their policies paid out. They've been faithful premium holders, faithful premium payers. They need the policies paid out. And that's something that's going to make a huge, huge difference."
Recovering from the devastation could take some time in local communities, and it was reported that roughly 700,000 lost power across the region during the height of the storm.
"I expect that our governor will soon make an emergency request for disaster relief, and we'd certainly hope that FEMA would act on that. ASAP," Hawley added.
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