Residents in at least three states were left unable to place emergency 911 calls on Wednesday evening as states and towns reported widespread 911 call outages. Local law enforcement agencies took to social media to inform residents in South Dakota, Nevada, and Texas that 911 services were not functioning.
In South Dakota, the entire statewide emergency calling system experienced an outage, according to the Rapid City Police Department. They announced on social media that “911 services are currently down statewide.”
Cities as large as Las Vegas, Nevada also faced 911 outages, with the Las Vegas Police Department (LVMPD) advising residents to dial 911 on a mobile device for immediate assistance. They also mentioned that 911 calls from landlines were not operational at the time.
Fortunately, by 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, the LVMPD announced that 911 phone service had been restored and they had reached out to everyone who had attempted to call during the outage.
In Texas, multiple cities, including Del Rio and Kilgore, experienced outages as well. The Del Rio Police Department attributed the issue to a major cellular carrier problem, not the city’s systems. Kilgore Police Department also reported intermittent outages and provided an alternative number for residents to report emergencies.
Overall, the 911 outages in these states caused concern and inconvenience for residents, highlighting the importance of reliable emergency services.
