Spurred by the tornado that killed five people and caused about $1.6 billion of damage across St. Louis last year, U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell has a trio of disaster-related bills pending in the House.

Bell, a St. Louis Democrat, introduced legislation earlier this month that would require the federal government to make timely updates in its assessment of disaster areas.

Specifically, the bill calls for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make periodic inspections of disaster-stricken communities to make sure information on housing shortages and infrastructure damages are up to date.

Bell said current federal disaster procedures often rely on one-time assessments that do not reflect current conditions in the disaster area.

“Far too often, communities are forced to rebuild while the federal government is working with outdated or incomplete information," Bell said in a statement.

Under the bill, HUD must submit reports to Congress within 60 days of a presidential major-disaster declaration and then provide quarterly updates that identify any needs that could be addressed through Community Development Block Grant funds.

In May, Bell introduced a bill that aims to improve the nation’s alarm capabilities, as well as provide more community shelters.

Prompted by the fact that St. Louis' tornado sirens were not sounded in a timely manner — with some individual alarms not sounding at all — Bell wants to establish a national plan for modernizing alarm systems by using artificial intelligence and upgraded radar equipment.

Bell's first disaster-related bill was introduced last October, which would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue funding relief efforts even during government shutdowns.

All three bills have been assigned to House committees, but no action has been scheduled on any of them.

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