Emergency services and access to 911 operators have been affected in multiple states as a major IT outage causes chaos worldwide.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety told Newsweek: "Due to a nationwide technology issue, 911 and nonemergency calls were not able to be answered in multiple Alaska dispatch centers across Alaska starting around 9:00 pm Alaska time before fully resolving around 4:00 am Alaska time."
They added, "Dispatch centers switched to analog phone systems or to partner dispatch centers that were not impacted to continue taking calls for service and dispatching emergency services across the state."
New Hampshire Emergency Services and Communications told Newsweek: "Just after 1 a.m. on Friday, July 19, New Hampshire 911 telecommunicators reported that they could see incoming 911 calls on their computer systems, but they were unable to answer those calls. Calls that were initially unable to be answered by telecommunicators were quickly returned to ensure 911 callers received the help they needed."
They added that the New Hampshire 911 server system has now been fully restored and emergency calls to 911 are being processed normally.
In Phoenix, Arizona, emergency services have faced further issues. Governor Katie Hobbs posted on X, "A worldwide IT outage has impacted some State of Arizona systems and agency operations. My team is closely monitoring all services that have been impacted and is working to ensure that we continue delivering the critical services that Arizonans rely on. As we work to address the problem, there may be delays with certain services. I will continue to keep Arizonans updated as we receive new information."
The major IT outage hit business communications around the world on Thursday night, affecting banks, broadcasters, and airlines including Delta, United, and American Airlines, which have grounded flights.
It appears to be linked to an update to the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which affected a number of Microsoft services worldwide, including reports of Windows computers crashing.
CrowdStrike posted on its website that it "is aware of reports of crashes on Windows related to the Falcon Sensor."
Microsoft has acknowledged the issues and said many services have since been restored, adding that the company is "continuing to progress on our mitigation efforts."
On X, formerly Twitter, users are sharing their experiences of the global outage.
It appears to have affected people's ability to log on to work computers and accounts, with multiple social media users reporting being unable to carry out their daily duties.
Digital payment methods are also reportedly impacted, with some contactless card systems down and self-checkouts not working.
In the UK, health services have also been affected, with physicians unable to access patient records and appointments systems.
Signal problems impacting 911 services have hit at least eight states this year.
In June, Massachusetts' 911 system was down for roughly two hours. In April, issues were reported in Nevada, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas, the BBC reported at the time.
In February, tens of thousands of people were left without cellphone service across California, Georgia, Illinois, and Texas, including some 911 services.
In August 2023, wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, led some cell towers to lose service, meaning that calls to 911 couldn't be properly connected.
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About the writer
Jasmine Laws is a Live News Reporter at Newsweek based in London, U.K. Her focus is reporting on U.S. politics, ... Read more
