Miraculous count: Some 90% got out of towers alive

miami hearld ^ | December 8, 2001 | SARA KUGLER

[classygreeneyedblonde]

NEW YORK -- With the World Trade Center death toll shrinking to somewhere around 3,000, many hesitate to speak of a miracle or a success. But those are the words they are using when they remember that thousands of others got out alive before the towers collapsed

Many officials say the loss of life would have been many times higher if not for three factors: the timing of the attack, before the buildings had filled to their usual workday peak; emergency-evacuation improvements prompted by the 1993 terrorist bombing of the trade center, and the urgent reaction of workers, many of whom had been through the earlier attack.

On Sept. 11, perhaps 18,000 people by one estimate evacuated the two 110-story towers in less than two hours

It looks like maybe 90 percent of the people in the buildings survived that day. It's amazing,'' said Alan Reiss, the trade center's former director

Reiss and others do not discount the devastation of the terrorist attack or the grief felt by the families of the dead.

Yet in the initial hours after the attack, many feared that tens of thousands had been killed. Even weeks later, city officials estimated nearly 7,000 people had lost their lives.

After fixing errors and removing duplicate names from the casualty lists, city officials say the death toll stands at about 3,000 and may drop further. The figure includes about 500 people who were not in the towers at the time of the attacks -- rescue workers who entered afterward and the people aboard the hijacked planes.

Three thousand people died, and one has a hard time saying anything about it is a success,'' said Michael Cherkasky, president of Kroll Associates, a security company that helped the trade center's owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, revamp evacuation procedures after the 1993 bombing.

Having said that, it is a remarkable story from the perspective of how the Port Authority was able to organize itself -- the success it had in evacuating the building in comparison to '93, and the heroic efforts of the police and fire.''

In 1993, it took six hours to evacuate most of the occupants of the trade center after terrorists detonated a bomb in an underground garage, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.

This time, there were some missteps, such as conflicting announcements over when and whether to evacuate. But the evacuation time was reduced by several hours.

The time of day was a factor, too.

Just before lunchtime on a typical work day, the towers would have held about 50,000 people, said Reiss, who was at the trade center on Sept. 11, helping with the transition to a new management.

Reiss estimated just 20,000 people were at the trade center when an airliner smashed into the north tower at 8:48 a.m. The south tower was hit just after 9 a.m. The south tower collapsed in less than an hour, at 9:55; the north tower at 10:29.

During the 1993 evacuation, workers crammed into pitch-black exit stairways, bumping into walls and each other in the smoky darkness

It took a very, very long time to get down back in those days,'' said Robert Davidson, who worked on the 73rd floor of the north tower as chief architect for the Port Authority. ``As you moved down the stairs you went about half a flight and stopped for while. That was the trip all the way down.''

After the bombing, however, batteries were added to every other light fixture in the stairwells in case power went out as it did in 1993. Handrails were painted with yellow glow-in-the-dark paint, which also was used to mark a continuous stripe down the middle of the staircases. A public address system was added, enabling fire command stations to address tenants.

And having been through one emergency, employees listened to what they should do in the case of another, Reiss said. ``We always had a fire drill every six months, but people wouldn't come out of their offices. The higher-ups wouldn't leave meetings. That sort of stopped after '93.

At Mancini Duffy, an architectural firm on the south tower's 22nd floor with 140 employees, the policy was leave first, ask questions later

From the experience of '93, whenever there was an unusual noise or sound or smell, they were instructed to leave the building regardless of what was being said,'' chairman Ralph Mancini said. ``That's why we got out so fast.''

[classygreeneyedblonde]

I think alot that didn't get out were the ones told to go back and the ones above the fire

[geege]

My cousin missed the elevator.....he worked on the 70th floor.....he ran like hell when he heard the first sonic boom!!!!!

[dorben]

Simply Incredible . It truly is . Bless all of them !

[classygreeneyedblonde]

I am glad that he made it out

[VaBthang4]

It really was God's grace...

It could've been so much worse.

[classygreeneyedblonde]

They can't say God wasn't there that day

[50sDad]

Nephew of a woman at church was due to be in a meeting above the 100th, slept through a subways stop, had to reverse travel, hit the lobby just when plane one slammed in, found an exit, got out. Praise God!

[dorben]

He was Meg , And thank you for this post . I appreciate you bringing this to other's attention . mine also -).

[MizSterious]

Yes, it could have, but watch and see if the media doesn't use this story and others like it to start telling us that it "wasn't all that bad" and we should stop bombing and going after terrorists. (After all, they were probably underprivileged and misunderstood, no doubt!)

[dorben]

Bump to share stories !

[Illbay]

and the urgent reaction of workers, many of whom had been through the earlier attack.

I daresay that, leaving aside those folks vaporized upon the impact of the aircraft, the majority of those who were killed were the ones that "obeyed" the order to stay put.

[geege]

Wow.....he must be thanking his lucky stars like my cousin

[Dan from Michigan]

That is great. As unfortunatly as the attack was, it could have been much worse.

[operation clinton cleanup]

I have heard so many stories about people who survived because they were late for work that day. Not sure what that means.

[geege]

Yea he ended up with cuts and bruises all over his legs from falling while he was running.... practically ran home to NJ.....

[No!]

"They can't say God wasn't there that day"

Angels, too...

Thank you for posting this...

[dorben]

It's an invitation to share the positive . The good things that came from that date . Goodness knows , there is plenty of negative .

[classygreeneyedblonde]

Your welcome

[M. Thatcher]

Do you have the url for this piece? I can't find it on the home page. Many thanks in advance.

[contessa machiaveli]

a neighbor of mine was on the 28th floor of the first tower and got out, however the trauma remains. people didn't panic, perhaps they were in shock, maybe they were lucky, but one thing is sure.....there were rescuers who selflessly guided people to safety. that's why the casualties are so high among the firefighters, police, etc. it could have been even more catastrophic than it was. and don't let anyone forget, this was an outrage against america and everything we are.

[Sueann]

"urgent reaction of workers"

I agree with you - the ones who were told to go back to their offices and didn't listen are alive today. Of course, the ones above the actual intrusion of the airplane, were not in a good place - however, several of them have reported finding a staircase down which they had not ever known about before - divine providence? I think so!

[Cicero]

I have been thinking that it was something of a miracle myself, from the first day that it happened. My oldest son was supposed to be at a meeting there, but didn't go because he got in late the previous night. Ditto for his brother-in-law. A friend of the people I stayed with after I got evacuated from my apartment had a friend call who was late to work because he dropped his kids off at school. And I talked to one person the day it happened who mentioned the public-address announcement sending people back to their desks--but she said that most of them changed their minds and went down anyway, or were advised to go down by local security people.

Those who were killed certainly didn't deserve to die, especially the rescue workers, but it seems to me that God was merciful.

[classygreeneyedblonde]

link to story

[classygreeneyedblonde]

everything happens for a reason and thank God that they all were late

[classygreeneyedblonde]

[Paradox]

I think alot that didn't get out were the ones told to go back and the ones above the fire

I agree, I cannot imagine the guilt that the PA operator (and/or those who made the decision to give the message to go back) must feel.

[operation clinton cleanup]

My point was that people may have been delayed getting to work because of a "Higher Power", I.E. the woman who slept through her subway stop. Sorry I wasnt more clear.

[ladyinred]

I think you are right. I can't imagine someone telling them not to get out though! I can guarantee you, I would have disobeyed orders and been out of there!

[sheik yerbouty]

NY traffic jams.

[ladyinred]

Wasn't his time to go, obviously. I can imagine how he must feel, wow.

[meridia]

Thanks for posting this. I've been wondering how many people LIVED, as I will never forget the horror of being told that 50,000+ people worked in the Twin Towers that morning of 911. I have not to date found anything about the total number of survivors.

[No!]

That's beautiful megs... I saved it.

THANK YOU! :)

[dorben]

These are the things that cannot be explained .How incredible you'r family was delayed ! I can only imagine your joy !

[meridia]

Oh... and I forgot: I hope that Mr. bin Laden and his close compatriots and ALL his supporters both Islamic and Western . . . I hope they all go to Hell and rot e t e r n a l l y.

[classygreeneyedblonde]

I know when I heard 50,000 I was shocked....thank God it was 50,000 that lived

[classygreeneyedblonde]

I would have been right along aside you

[operation clinton cleanup]

My sister works at the State Department and witnessed the crash into the Pentagon. They were told everything was o.k. and go back to work. Her and her co-workers opted to go home for the rest of the day.

[SoDak]

My best friend's sister was late for work that morning due to plumbing problems. Doesn't it seem like there are tons of similar stories all over? There were definitely some miracles in the dust that day.

[proxy_user]

I guess our habit of not showing up for work before 9:30 is of some use after all. I only wish that I had had the sense to leave the area before that tower collapsed.

[SteveH]

A recent Reader's Digest included an article about a woman who managed the subway trains and reversed the trains away from the WTC when she first heard about the first airplane hit. The story goes that thousands of people going to the WTC from the subway may have been saved because they did not arrive at work that day.

[classygreeneyedblonde]

You were there?

[classygreeneyedblonde]

That was a very smart move on her part....she saved alot of people sh'es an angel

[nicmarlo]

God was merciful.

Yes. And think of all the tourists that weren't there, yet. There could have been many thousands more, besides the normal office workers, that could have been killed.

[JoeSchem]

It was miraculous that so few people were killed, miraculous that Flight 93 was kept from hitting the Capitol and ending American democracy, and miraculous that the Taliban collapsed so rapidly as seven million Afghans faced starvation this winter due to the disruption of the war.

Thanksgiving 2001

[Pistias]

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:10

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9

[No!]

I read too that a NY fireman or cop WAIVED a train through to NJ from the depot under the towers...

Thousands more saved...

[The Truth Will Make You Free]

Let's not forget the mercy of the Lord. Some Christian were led to pray against these attacks as early as 1999 with the understanding that they couldn't be avoided but they could be lessened. For those with open eyes, God's mercy can be seen in each one of the attacks.

Also, many people who responded to the voice of the Lord on that day were saved, such as the woman who on the 104th floor who was led to go down immediately through difficult stairwell conditions and surrived when others went to the top and perished. Likewise for the person who was led to take the elevator down from the 94th floor while others taking the stairs didn't make it.

[M. Thatcher]

THANKS!!

[summer]

Great post. Thanks.

Also, how miraculous that not all the airplanes the terrorists had scheduled that day to be hijacked were hijacked, as the planes and skies were cleared so quickly. This seems to have prevented at least one other hijacking, as several Muslim male passengers were later caught with boxcutters on a plane that was grounded.

[John H K]

If I was someone that had a family member that WAS killed in the WTC, I would be deeply offended at people gleefully describing as "God-given miracles" various dumb-luck incidents that prevented people from being in the towers when they normally are.