A recent outage of the 911 system, which impacted multiple states, has been attributed to fiber cuts within the telecommunications system, according to officials. The outage lasted for several hours before the system was restored.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced on social media that the 911 systems in his state were impacted due to these fiber cuts. Approximately two hours later, he confirmed that the 911 system had been restored and was functioning as intended throughout Mississippi. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to monitor the situation.
In Louisiana, Karl Fasold, the Executive Director of the Orleans Parish Communication District, reported a ‘major fiber cut’ in Mississippi, resulting in a 911 outage over most of Louisiana and Mississippi. Fasold stated during a press briefing in New Orleans that there was no indication the cut was malicious.
Fasold’s office received notification of the fiber cut at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time. By around 4 p.m., the Orleans Parish Communication District confirmed that 911 service had been restored and was ‘functioning properly at this time.’ Whether 911 service beyond New Orleans had been restored was not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, the Alabama 9-1-1 Board, through a social media post, countered reports of a 911 service disruption in their state, stating there had been no confirmed or reported outages affecting their emergency services.
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Undoubtedly, this incident raises important questions about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the public’s right to reliable emergency services.
