Communications restored to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands after fiber optic cable damaged

Communication services were restored at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, after a fiber optic cable was damaged, leading to a widespread phone and internet outage.

The outage occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. and affected all of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.

During the outage, emergency personnel was placed at each of the volunteer fire department and EMS stations on Hatteras Island as a precaution.

This is the second communications outage within a month, as a similar outage occurred on February 14.

As a reminder for future outages, when 911 is down, the public is advised to head to their nearest EMS or fire station for assistance.