911 calls from during Hurricane Jeanne

[Almighty Colin]

911 Calls Document Fears At Height Of Jeanne


As Hurricane Jeanne passed through Central Florida, 911 emergency operators answered calls from terrified residents in evacuated areas as they faced 100 mph winds during the height of the storm.

Wednesday, police released 911 tapes from local residents, including a call from Lynn Tepley who rode the storm out in her Barefoot Bay mobile home.

Tepley and her family spent the hurricane huddled together in a towel closet as winds destroyed their mobile home.

"I hear the roof going," a crying Tepley told a 911 operator during Hurricane Jeanne.

"You were told to evacuate ma'am," the 911 operator said.

"We had nowhere to go," Tepley said. "We have a blind dog and nobody would take him." "Oh my God, it's coming in through the windows in the front."

"OK, ma'am," the operator said. "Just stay calm because getting upset isn't going to make the situation any better, OK?"

Tepley survived the hurricane but told Local 6 News Wednesday that she would never again attempt to ride out a hurricane.

Other residents called 911 and made similar pleas for help during the hurricane.

"I'm at my sister-in-law's and this place is falling apart," a caller told a 911 operator.

Also, a caller said, "Half of our roof just came off and my grandmother - we need somebody to get my grandmother out of here."

Local 6 News reported that 911 operators gave the same answer to callers who ignored the mandatory order to evacuate.

"At that point we couldn't have reached her if we wanted to without risking somebody else's life," an operator told Local 6 News.

More than 3,900 people were staying in shelters Wednesday while nearly 1.3 million homes and businesses were without power