Residents in at least three states faced difficulties placing emergency 911 calls on Wednesday evening due to reported outages. South Dakota, Nevada, and Texas were among the states affected by the disruptions.
In South Dakota, the entire statewide emergency calling system experienced an outage, as confirmed by the Rapid City Police Department. The department issued a statement informing residents that 911 services were down statewide. Fortunately, the issue was resolved, and normal 911 phone service was restored.
Las Vegas, Nevada, also encountered widespread outages, with the Las Vegas Police Department advising residents to dial 911 on mobile devices for immediate assistance. Landline calls were not functional during the outage, but the LVMPD assured the public that they had called back everyone who attempted to reach out for help.
Meanwhile, Dundy County, Nebraska, and surrounding areas, as well as multiple cities in Texas such as Del Rio and Kilgore, experienced similar disruptions. The Del Rio Police Department attributed the outage to a problem with a major cellular carrier, emphasizing that it was not an issue with the city's systems. Kilgore Police Department reported intermittent outages and provided an alternative emergency contact number for residents.
Law enforcement agencies in the affected areas utilized social media to keep residents informed about the situation and advised them on how to seek help during the outages. While the exact cause of the outages was not specified in the reports, efforts were made to restore 911 services promptly to ensure public safety.
