Mississippi and Louisiana faced significant disruptions to their 911 emergency calling systems on Thursday, with outages affecting major cities such as New Orleans and Jackson. Officials reported that the issues stemmed from severed fiber optic cables, leading to regional impacts across multiple areas.
In Louisiana, Jefferson and Tangipahoa parishes, along with Baton Rouge and Shreveport, experienced service interruptions. Mississippi saw outages in Forrest and Kemper counties, including Jackson, the state capital. Residents in affected regions were advised to use alternative communication methods, as emergency lines faced delays or transfers to non-emergency numbers.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves confirmed that the state was collaborating with AT&T following reports of “a series of fiber cuts” impacting network operations. In Forrest County, callers encountered extended wait times before being redirected to the National 911 Call Center, which then routed some calls to unstable local non-emergency lines.
No evidence of malicious activity has been linked to the outages, according to authorities. Officials in Fulton County, Illinois, also reported similar issues, urging residents to contact non-emergency services. The incidents highlight vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure as states work to restore full functionality.