While Hurricane Milton did not claim any lives in Collier County, according to data collected by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the county received hundreds of Milton-related 911 calls, nearly doubling the number of calls it received during Hurricane Helene about two weeks earlier.
Most of those Hurricane Milton calls came in Oct. 9 as the storm passed Southwest Florida, making landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, in Sarasota County, about 75 miles north of Fort Myers. Milton, at its peak, was a Category 5 hurricane.
The storm wreaked damage through Florida, causing at least 27 deaths, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In response to a public records request, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said it searched the three-day period between 12:01 a.m. Oct. 8 and 11:59 p.m. Oct. 11 for any calls for service related to Hurricane Milton.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said it received 34 Hurricane Milton-related 911 calls Oct. 8. The number of 911 calls skyrocketed to 137 on Oct. 9 and 132 on Oct. 10.