IT outage at CrowdStrike disrupts emergency call systems in three US states

A widespread technology outage at CrowdStrike has impacted emergency call systems in at least three U.S. states. While the emergency systems of most major cities remained unaffected, authorities in Oregon, Alaska, and Arizona reported significant issues. Erin Zysett, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, confirmed that numerous 911 centers, hospitals, airports, as well as public safety and emergency management agencies in Oregon were affected. "Our IT teams are working very quickly to apply the corrections provided by CrowdStrike, and the impacts are being rapidly mitigated," Zysett said. State alarm systems and security incident tracking systems were largely unaffected. In Portland, emergency dispatchers had to operate for several hours without key computer systems and resorted to manual procedures. However, by 6 AM, the computer systems were functioning normally again, according to city spokesperson Mila Mimica. In Phoenix, the 911 centers were also affected, but dispatchers continued to receive calls and had to record communications on paper. The 911 emergency service in Phoenix was also restored by 6 AM. In Alaska, the issues began on Thursday evening. Call centers across the state struggled with problems due to the "nationwide technology-related disruption." The emergency service was operational again by 4:23 AM, as the Alaska State Troopers reported in an update on social media. Less urgent government operations also experienced outages in some parts of the country. Motor vehicle departments in Georgia, Ohio, and Indiana reported disruptions or anticipated possible outages. In Hudson, south of Cleveland, utility billing systems and telephone systems went down, leading to the closure of the city hall. Although larger cities like New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Miami reported no issues, the San Francisco Fire Department had to respond to 20 false alarms within just 16 minutes, apparently caused by the outage.