Severe storms wreaked havoc across central and eastern Pennsylvania on Thursday, leaving thousands of Schuylkill County residents in the dark while also disrupting crucial 911 communications.
The day began with forecasts of storms, but the extent of the damage they would inflict caught many off guard. At approximately 4:00 pm on Thursday, a series of powerful storms swept through Schuylkill County, triggering multiple power outages that left areas including Pottsville, Minersville, Norwegian Township, Gordon, and West Penn Township without electricity.
At 11:00 pm, Thursday, 6,199 homes in Gordon, Pottsville, and Minersville remained without power, marking seven hours since the outages began.
In addition to power issues, Schuylkill County's 911 emergency communication system encountered issues. Reports emerged that Verizon cell phones were unable to make 911 calls, leading to concerns about public safety during the storm.
It was later learned that the widespread 911 communication outage resulted from a severed fiber line in the Enola, Cumberland County area, disrupting emergency services not only in Schuylkill County but also in several neighboring counties. The affected areas included:
- Bradford
- Carbon
- Clinton
- Lackawanna
- Luzerne
- Lycoming
- Pike
- Schuylkill
- Snyder
- Sullivan
- Susquehanna
- Tioga
- Wayne
- Wyoming
To mitigate the impact of the 911 communications disruption, Berks County has stepped in to assist with answering Schuylkill County's emergency calls. Residents are urged to first attempt to dial 911, where they will be rerouted to Berks County for assistance. If unable to reach 911, residents are advised to call 610-655-4918, and Berks County will relay their requests for assistance.
Update (12:00pm) - Update from PEMA