ST. LOUIS - Following a siren failure in May’s deadly tornado, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer called for an examination of what went wrong and what steps should be taken to prevent another failure.

A report prepared by the law firm Carmody MacDonald was released on Monday. It stated there were “multiple cascading failures at almost every level leading up to and even after the storm event.”

Following the May 16 tornado, residents complained about not hearing sirens before it arrived. 

Sarah Russell, the city’s emergency management director, was not in the office when the tornado touched down. City leaders later said a communications breakdown resulted in no one activating the sirens. 

Russell remains on paid leave pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.

“There was no clear policy regarding who was responsible for activating the siren for either the monthly tests or during severe weather,” states Monday’s report.

The report also found that even if the sirens were activated, many residents would not have heard them.  According to the report, “22 of the 60 sirens in the city were not functional for various reasons.”

The report called for better communication between the emergency management agency and first responders, a clear policy for who is responsible for sounding sirens, and more robust testing of the system.

The report praised some of the actions taken to address concerns, and repairs have been made.  The system is now automatically activated when severe weather warnings are issued by the National Weather Service.

“This investigation makes it clear that there were breakdowns on several levels on May 16, but also before and after. I am committed to putting this report to work so the City of St. Louis can respond at the highest possible levels in any future disaster,” Spencer wrote in a statement to FOX 2.

You can find the comprehensive report below.