Oceanic Cable reporting interruptions that may impact ability to call 911 for emergency assistance

Oceanic Cable is reporting intermittent interruptions in their fiber optic system that may cause disruptions for customers trying to call 911 for emergency assistance.

Hawaii County Civil Defense says the outage is affecting customers from Hilo to Waimea. It may affect some cell phone users also.

Civil Defense says it is not an issue with the 911 system, so emergency assistance can still be contacted via other phone lines, or by going to the nearest police or fire station.