UPDATE (6:00 p.m.): The Weslaco Police Department said their lines continue to be down.

Weslaco Police Cpt. Robert De La Cerda stressed landlines are the ones being affected, not the 911 dispatch.

He said anyone calling 911 for an emergency situation from their cell phone will be rerouted through the department via the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.

De La Cerda assured the police department will tend to every call they get. He said it might just take them more time to respond until the issue is resolved.

“As far as calls, we’ve been pretty lucky today. We haven’t had any major accidents, knock on wood,” he said. “We hope to continue until the situation with the landlines is corrected.”

Frontier Communication could still not give us an estimated time of when the problem would be resolved.

If anyone finds themselves in an emergency, they can still contact 911. Police said it must be from a cell phone. You can also contact the Weslaco Police Department dispatch at 956-778-3398.

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WESLACO - The landlines in the city of Weslaco, including residential businesses and local law enforcement are currently down.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to Frontier Communication, Weslaco’s provider, to find out what caused the issue.

A representative for the company said crews responded to nearly 3,500 damaged lines in the area. They said crews worked to restore service for more than five hours.

The Weslaco Police Department said they have backup resources ready for similar emergency situations.

“I just want to reassure the citizens that our 911 emergency services are still operational, they’re still functional. Our land lines are the ones that are down,” Weslaco Police Lt. Jose Cano said. “So, for any routine calls for service we do have a number that we can provide at this time, and it is 778-3398.”

Frontier did not provide an estimated time of when the problem would be resolved and when lines would be restored.

If anyone finds themselves in an emergency, they can still contact 911. Police said it must be from a cell phone. You can also contact the Weslaco Police Department dispatch at 956-778-3398.