Mississippi and Louisiana faced widespread outages in their 911 emergency calling systems on Thursday, affecting major cities including New Orleans and Jackson. Initial investigations by New Orleans authorities identified severed fiber optic cables as the cause of the disruptions, which have had a “regional impact.” The outages span multiple parishes in Louisiana, such as Jefferson and Tangipahoa, as well as cities like Baton Rouge and Shreveport. In Mississippi, affected areas include Forrest and Kemper counties, with Jackson also experiencing issues.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves stated the state was collaborating with AT&T following reports of “series of fiber cuts” impacting the network. Local officials urged residents to use alternate numbers while service was restored. In Fulton County, Illinois, authorities recommended calling non-emergency lines.

Residents in Forrest County faced delays, with calls being transferred through the National 911 Call Center before reaching local non-emergency lines, which some reported had crashed. No evidence of foul play has been indicated in the incidents.