First the Power, Now the Phones: Verizon Outage Frustrates Dutchess County

Residents across Dutchess County are dealing with Verizon Wireless service issues after a widespread outage began early Monday morning.

The outage couldn't come at a worse time. It comes less than 24 hours after the powerful storms that swept through the Hudson Valley on Saturday night, leaving thousands of residents without electricity, knocking down hundreds of trees, and causing widespread damage across the region. While the Verizon outage does not appear to be directly related to the storms, it's adding another layer of frustration for many residents who are still cleaning up or waiting for power to be restored.

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Verizon Outage in Dutchess County, NY

Dutchess County officials confirmed that Dutchess County 911 is aware of the regional Verizon Wireless outage and is actively monitoring the situation alongside state and local partners. The biggest concern during an outage like this is the ability to reach emergency services. Officials warned that if your Verizon phone has no service, you may not be able to call or text 911.

SEE ALSO: Wild Storm Knocks Out Power, Destroys CVS in Dutchess County

If your phone is displaying "SOS" instead of your normal Verizon signal, there is some good news. According to Dutchess County 911, your phone may still have limited connectivity, meaning you could still be able to reach 911 depending on your location.

Officials also reminded residents that if you're connected to a wireless internet network, enabling Wi-Fi Calling could allow you to make calls while Verizon service is down.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Updates Coming Soon?

At this point, it's unclear exactly what caused the outage or when full service will be restored, but Dutchess County 911 says it remains in close contact with state and local partners and will continue monitoring the situation until Verizon service returns to normal.

If you're a Verizon customer in the Hudson Valley, it's worth checking your phone before heading out today. If you notice you're stuck in SOS mode, connecting to Wi-Fi whenever possible could help you stay connected until the outage is resolved.

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