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Pinellas County 911 calls from Hurricane Idalia released in hopes of raising awareness of flooding dangers

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Published  September 13, 2024 5:41pm EDT
Pinellas County
FOX 13 News

Consequences of ignoring evacuation orders

Kailey Tracy reports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As we head into the second half of hurricane season, Pinellas County officials hope releasing 911 calls from Hurricane Idalia will increase awareness of the flooding dangers posed by storms.

"I think these recordings illustrate how scary it is when water starts coming into your home,"  Cathie Perkins, the director for Pinellas County Emergency Management, said. "This is why we issue those evacuation orders, because we believe that there is a risk to people in those areas, and that's a terrible place to find yourself in, that zone and water's coming in, and you don't always know how high it's going to get."

"I’m stuck," one 911 caller said on a recording released. "I was in a mandatory zone, and it’s flooded around my car. I don’t know if it’s going to make it. I just don’t know what to do."

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That caller wasn’t alone. Pinellas County received more than 60 911 calls from people who didn’t follow mandatory evacuation orders before Hurricane Idalia in August of last year. 

"I’m stuck," another caller said. "I don’t know what to do. Should I get on the roof? Should I try to swim out," he asked.

Officials said Pinellas County experienced two to five feet of storm surge from Idalia. Perkins said first responders were still able to respond, but that’s not always the case.

"There were certainly issues and delays in getting out to people, and the concern is that, especially as that storm surge starts rolling in, there will come a point where they cannot get out there or if the winds are higher, they're not going to be able to respond," Perkins said.

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"That’s what we really want people to understand is that, unfortunately, if you choose to stay in those evacuation zones, it could reach a point where nobody's able to get to you, and you may or may not be able to implement lifesaving measures to keep yourself from getting killed," she said.

Perkins said after every storm, they try to determine why people didn’t evacuate. She said officials want to reiterate that PSTA offers free rides to shelters, and Pinellas has three types of shelters; pet-friendly, general population and special needs.

"People with special needs didn't realize there was a registry and services for them," she added.

People can get added to the registry and find more information about storm preparations on the county’s website.

"Don't tune out of hurricane season. I know it's tempting," Perkins said. "We’re getting to the second half of the hurricane season, but this is the busier time, and it doesn't take a hurricane to cause issues for us, as we’ve seen. The three things that I always tell everybody is you need to know your risk. You need to make a plan and you need to stay informed."

Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.

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