Widespread 911 Outages Hit Louisiana and Mississippi Amid Fiber Cable Issues

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana and Mississippi are facing significant outages with their 911 emergency calling systems. Officials reported that multiple parishes in Louisiana, including New Orleans, are affected, as well as counties in Mississippi, including the capital, Jackson.

The outages, which began earlier this afternoon, have been linked to a severed fiber optic cable. Officials noted that this disruption is causing a “regional impact” on emergency services in both states.

In Louisiana, the Desoto Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the problem started just after 1 p.m. Additionally, Pointe Coupee Parish indicated that the outage stemmed from a “technical issue” with the telecom provider AT&T.

This outage is not limited to Louisiana. Areas in Mississippi, particularly Gulfport, are also experiencing interruptions. Residents are advised to use non-emergency numbers to reach local law enforcement if they cannot connect to 911.

Acadian Ambulance services in both states have instructions for urgent medical situations. People needing an ambulance should call (469) 513-5677, or (318) 435-7000 for specific parishes.

This story is still developing, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.