Century Link's long distance service restored in South Dakota after flooding washes out cable

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Century Link says customers in South Dakota can again make long-distance landline calls after flooding in Minnesota washed out a fiber optic cable over the weekend, a company spokeswoman said.

Carrie Amann, a Century Link spokeswoman, told the Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/13m5zv4 ) that heavy rain in southern Minnesota washed out a railroad line, a gas line and the fiber optic cable that provides the company's South Dakota customers with long-distance access.

Amann said the gas line was the first thing to be repaired because of safety reasons. The phone service was restored to South Dakota late Tuesday.

Mystic resident Anne French, a Century Link customer, said she had been without phone service since Saturday and couldn't make calls to anyone outside the immediate area. French said during the disruption, she could call Rapid City and Hill City but couldn't reach anything that required a "1" before the area code.

She said she uses her landline to stay connected with family in Georgia.

"We're in an area with no cellphone service, and pretty far from any major cities, so we have to call long distance," French said.

Century Link provides services to a large area of the Black Hills and 16 areas of South Dakota. Amann said the company serves about 40 cities throughout South Dakota, and all experienced the service disruption.