Hurricane Milton brought nearly twice as many 911 calls to Collier County as Hurricane Helene
While no lives were lost in Collier County as a result of Hurricane Milton, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that the county received hundreds of Milton-related 911 calls, nearly tripling the number of calls received during Hurricane Helene two weeks prior.
Many of the calls regarding Hurricane Milton were received on October 9, as the storm moved through Southwest Florida, making landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key in Sarasota County, approximately 75 miles north of Fort Myers. Milton, during its most intense phase, reached the strength of a Category 5 hurricane.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the storm left a significant amount of damage across Florida and resulted in at least 27 fatalities.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office stated that, in response to a public records request, it conducted a search for any calls for service related to Hurricane Milton during the three-day period from 12:01 a.m. on October 8 to 11:59 p.m. on October 11, according to a recent article by Tomas Rodriguez of Naples Daily News.
On October 8, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported receiving 34 911 calls related to Hurricane Milton. The number of 911 calls increased to 137 on October 9, and 132 calls on October 10.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported that the initial call regarding a disabled vehicle was received around midnight on October 8, with subsequent calls arriving at approximately 7 a.m. on October 9.
The peak call volume occurred between 8 p.m. and midnight on Oct. 9, resulting in a total of 88 calls to their 911 line.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported that no rescues were carried out during Hurricane Milton.
What is the comparison between the Milton numbers and Helene in Collier County?
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported that a search for the 911 calls received on September 26 and the subsequent day concerning Hurricane Helene produced 191 results.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported that it conducted searches in the areas of assistance, fire incidents, roadway obstructions, severe weather conditions, marine activities, rescue operations, and traffic issues.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office stated in response to the records request that they eliminated any calls they could identify as unrelated to the storm.
On September 26, the first call for Helene was about flooding at 7:16 a.m. and another call about the same issue at 8 a.m. At that time, Hurricane Helene was approximately 163 miles away from the coast of Southwest Florida.
Areas of Southwest Florida continued to experience flooding days following Helene.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported that most of the calls related to Helene occurred between 1 and 2 p.m. on September 26, and again between 9 and 10 p.m. that same day.
CCSO utilizes RapidSOS, directing law enforcement and first responders to the exact location of a 911 call.
Loren Bolton, spokesperson for RapidSOS, stated that since their demo day in Collier County more than a year ago, during which they supported over 3,000 agencies nationwide, RapidSOS has seen significant growth.
Bolton informed the Daily News that RapidSOS assists over 21,000 first responder and 911 agencies across the country.
Last year, Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS, explained to this news organization that the system previously displayed the number a person was calling from, but it did not capture the caller’s identity.
In that conversation, Martin illustrated how a prior caller could generate almost 1 kilometer (3,281 feet) of uncertainty, posing a race against time for first responders. That measures approximately the same as 10 football fields. Their existing technology accurately identifies a precise location within a building.
Karie Partington, a representative for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, stated that they have been utilizing the technology since 2017.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News