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Statewide outage impacting 911 calls, phone and internet service

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Statewide outage impacting 911 calls, phone and internet service

A statewide telecommunications outage Thursday has impacted landline phone and internet services, including calls to 911 and area hospitals.

Provider Lumen Technologies, which also operates CenturyLink, had a water main break at its facility in Des Moines, which has “diminished” its electrical capacity, according to Polk County Emergency Management Agency. Lumen is working to bring additional generators but restoration timeline is unknown, Polk County said.

The company told WHO-13: “Our techs are working hard to fix a service disruption, caused by a water pipe break, which is affecting landline 911, phone, and Internet service for some customers in Central and Eastern Iowa. Restoring impacted services is our top priority. We’ll provide regular updates, and we appreciate your patience and understanding.”

Iowa Communications Network said in a statement it was told “water from the pipe leaked through to the basement and collected in the risers, which then collapsed. Teams were unable to use the on-site generators because they were routed through the collapsed risers.”

Lumen has had to power down some equipment as crews fix the issue, ICN said.

In Des Moines, phone lines went down at 5 a.m. Thursday, city officials said in a statement. 911 calls are only being completed through wireless phones.

Anybody that needs emergency police, fire, or mental health services should call 911 from their mobile device.

Cities in the metro and across the state are reporting similar issues. Calls are not being completed as dialed and callers may hear a busy tone.

Some of the impacted services locally include Des Moines police non-emergency line and administration, Des Moines Public Works customer service, Des Moines Parks & Recreation customer service, Des Moines Public Libraries and the city of Des Moines administration offices.

Phones also are down at MercyOne facilities across the state, including MercyOne Siouxland, North Iowa, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Oelwein, Des Moines, West Des Moines, Dubuque, Newton, and Centerville Medical Centers.

Polk County Emergency Management said Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the governor’s office and Iowa Health and Human Services are actively working the issue as well.

José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com.

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