What to Do If the 911 Service Is Down and You Have an Emergency
This does not happen often, but 911 services can fail. 911 is currently out of service in several US states due to a massive shutdown of the CenturyLink data center. While some cities that were initially out of service are already up and running, others are still down.
So what do you do if you can’t call 911? There are several options.
SMS to 911
Some areas support 911 text-to-text services. Even with this shutdown, these services are still running. You can see if your region supports this service on this FCC page .
Save local emergency numbers to your phone
It’s always a good idea to find local emergency numbers and store them on your phone before a real crisis hits. Even if the 911 service is down, sometimes the circuits can be overloaded and the call can take longer than desired.
Storing emergency numbers on your phone now (while you probably don’t have emergency assistance) can ensure that you have them ready when you need them.
(Obviously) there is no point in listing local emergency numbers here, but a quick Google search should reveal emergency numbers in your area.
The 911 service is always the best place to start (unless, of course, it gets disconnected). Also, save the local police, fire department and hospital number on your phone as something like Ambulance – Police or Ambulance – Fire so that you can easily find them later.
While you are doing this, it is a good idea to keep a few non-emergency numbers as well. As someone who had to look, who to call when my neighbors threw a disco blast at 4 a.m., or how to tow a truck blocking our driveway, it’s much easier to make those calls if you have a number already stored and ready to go. …