Hurricane Katrina - 911 Audio

For approximately 12 hours the Biloxi police department was unable to respond to pleas for help from those in Katrina's path. (Transcript here) This file is an edited mp3 audio only version of the recordings of some of the 911 calls which came in during that time. Complete news video from WLQX-TV at link above.

911 calls

Comments

[Bigfish]

Thanks Dan!
BF

[Isanah]

Heart wrenching article, during Ivan we listened to a scanner of desperate calls to police and it was in deed numbing to the despair that was out there. Many people forced into their attics from the high tidal surges. Mandatory evacuations now have additional meaning to many. How horrible it was for the 911 operators to have to live with those memories, especially when there was so many loss of lives. At least during Ivan, here in Pensacola, we had only a few deaths related to storm surge.

[Jeff]

I'm still trying to figure out if attics down south are significantly different from those here in the PNW... if the water is rising in my house, the last place I'm going to want to go is a restricted, closed in space with no exterior access - meaning no way out.

[rabidfox]

No the attics are the same. Most people carry an axe up there. Or a chain saw. Personally, if I'm in a flood zone or even a potential flood zone, I'm outta there. Unless a dam breaks, people ususally have warning. A lot of the people who emded up in the attics decided NOT to evacuate.