The commissioner of the St. Louis City Emergency Management Agency, Sarah Russell, has been placed on paid administrative leave after failing to sound the warning siren during the tornadoes last Friday that killed five people.

"I cannot move on from this without providing accountability and ensuring that our emergency management is in trusted hands."

The city of St Louis placed its emergency management chief on leave after the staffer failed to activate the tornado sirens before a deadly twister tore through the Midwestern metropolis, according to reports.