Outrage at how the 911 emergency service ‘failed New York’ during Hurricane Sandy

Some of the city's most vulnerable residents were unable to get through to overwhelmed 911 operators, while others were referred to non-emergency numbers, the NY Post reported
Disabled David Gotthelf, 72, drowned in his Rockaways home after emergency services failed to reach him despite a friend calling for hours and hours

PUBLISHED: 04:11 EST, 19 November 2012 | UPDATED: 08:05 EST, 19 November 2012

New York's emergency services have been heavily criticised for their lack of preparation during Superstorm Sandy as it emerged some of the city's most vulnerable residents could not get through to 911 operators.

Emergency lines rang and rang without an answer and those lucky enough to get through were greeted by woefully unprepared operators, the New York Post said today.

Others needing urgent help during and after the devastating storm were passed on to the city's 311 non-emergency line, while dispatchers from the police, fire and ambulance services squabbled over which calls were more urgent.

Overwhelmed: Devastation in the Rockaway Beach area of New York in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Emergency services were woefully unprepared for the storm, it has been alleged

Diane Hudson, 45, said an elderly neighbour with cerebral palsy drowned when his Rockaway Park home filled up with flood water because it took hours to get through to emergency services.

She said 72-year-old David Gotthelf, who was a wheelchair user, had called Hudson for help when he couldn't get through to 911 himself.

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'The first hour or so, I got a busy signal. When [I was] finally able to get through to 911, it would ring for three or four minutes,' Hudson told the paper.

'One time, they sent [me] to a dispatcher who called me back and ended up being in the Bronx [at least a 40 minute drive away].'

On another occasion, she was transferred to Emergency Medical Services, which coordinates ambulances, only to be told they don't do rescues.

Little left: A pile of debris from damaged homes in Rockaway Park, where disabled David Gotthelf, 72, drowned in his own home after emergency services failed to respond

'I told them my friend who's disabled was stuck in his apartment, and I hadn't spoken to him in hours. They said, 'We can't really help you because it's not a medical emergency.'

'They obviously weren't trained for this kind of situation. They're kind of reading from a script.'

Gotthelf had been logged in their system but his best hope of rescue was by calling 311.

Despite Hudson trying both emergency lines until her phone battery died, responders were never dispatched and she found her friend dead the following morning.

Other people spoke of being criticised by overwhelmed emergency operators for not evacuating.

New York's 911 system typically handles 30,000 calls a day but during the storm on October 29 it received 20,000 calls an hour.

The city's 1,400 dispatchers were overwhelmed despite claims the 911 system could handle 50,000 calls an hour.

Under the Boardwalk: The remains of the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, which was destroyed by Sandy. Emergency numbers received 20,000 calls and hour during the storm

In 2009, the city spent $2bn on upgrading the system, including a $680m call centre.

Earlier this year, a consultant found the city's fire and police department's reliance on having their own dispatchers created a situation where operators often 'wasted time asking duplicative questions and taking identical actions for the same 911 caller'

However, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne defended the set=up.

'Instead of holding on as instructed by a recording during these peaks, callers hung up and redialled even though the recording cautioned against doing so because it put repeat callers back at the bottom of the queue and furthered overall delays,' he said.

'Despite repeated requests to the public to use 311 for non-emergencies, many still used 911 for non-life-threatening situations.'

Superstorm Sandy made landfall on America's east coast at around 6.30pm on October 29, causing 131 fatalities and an estimated $50bn of damage.

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looking at those pictures of the boardwalk with piles of beach sand. sand won't stop the ocean. you need concrete and stone to stop the ocean. maybe this time it will be built properly

- nostrodomos , spfld-ma-usa, United States, 19/11/2012 16:49

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SO should 911 service have hired a few thousand more people before the storm..and gave them the 4month training course in a week? As it was, all hands were on deck. And if you have ever worked 911, 50% are bogus calls to begin with. Then add a storm.

- Winnie , Holmdel New Jersey, United States, 19/11/2012 16:18

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New York repeatedly votes democrat. This is their prerogative and I respect their vote, but certainly they know that the democratic party stands for more government, more bureaucracy?

- Freddie Mercury Fan , St. Louis, United States, 19/11/2012 16:12

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Wow, he must be the anointed one. He has some mystic power that averts all blame to everything else but himself. Too bad Bush didn't. Astonishing.

- Bill , Alexandria, 19/11/2012 16:07

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It would be interesting to see how many of those calls came from "Zone A", that had a mandatory evacuation issued on it. It was estimated that over 50% of the people in Zone A ignored the evacuation order, and they were told repeatedly that first responders would not be asked to risk their lives in rescue attempts in areas that were supposed to be evacuated. And where else WOULD those 911 call be coming from. They ended up being very accurate in which areas should have been evacuated, it's doubtful that many in Zones B and C would need 911, and those in Zones B and C that did need 911 were probably delayed because of overwhelming calls from Zone A people who should have never been there. If I were investigating, that would be the first question I asked. If they told me they called from Zone A, I would end up calling them selfish oafs (or worse) who endangered everyone else, and tell them to get out. I can't believe they have the stones to complain now...but hey..It's New York.

- Resident , somewhere in America, 19/11/2012 15:48

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This is such nonsense. Everything was cured by Obama. There are no problems anymore now that the demon G.W. Bush is no longer president. All of this is right wing propaganda designed to discredit His Holiness Obama and his great accomplishment of eliminating natural disasters from American life...

- Edward , Scottsdale, 19/11/2012 15:40

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Your article makes it sound as if the NY 911 system is inadequate because they could not handle 50,000 calls an hour. Though a tree falling or water surging into the home is frightening and an emergency to the homeowner it is not a medical emergency unless someone is hurt. The public needs to be educated on how and when to use the system as it is terribly abused. People use it to complain about neighbors, ask the weather, wanting transportation, to ask how to cook something; because they feel lonely, to complain about the police department, fire department, their doctor; to say their power, gas, or water is turned off and when street lights are out. This is not even touching on the prank calls or non emergency medical questions asked or non emergency calls by drunks and drug addicts wanting trips to the liquor store or emergency room to see if they can get a fix for ' pain '. 911 is an emergency call system not a chat line, a utility service or a taxi.

- Mary Rose 1 , Lexington NC, United States, 19/11/2012 14:39

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Shouldn't they be blaming Fema and Obama - that's what happened after Katrina.

- Sherry S. , Memphis_Tn_USA, 19/11/2012 14:13

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So i guess Diane Hudson could not help him? Was there a reason why when people were told to evacuate days before there was no where for him to go? Notice the trolls are out trying to make this disaster political again.

- The Truth , World, 19/11/2012 13:58

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People are insufferably stupid when it comes to identifying emergencies. A tree fell over in your yard, you can't find your dog, you lost internet connection, your water shut off, your power shut off -- these are not emergencies. But people are stupid enough to call 911 over them!

- A.R. , USA, 19/11/2012 13:57

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