Public Service Announcement
Every day I get an e-mail from the Oxford English Dictionary with their word of the day. Today's, oddly enough, is 999. What, I asked myself, does 999 mean? Apparently, 999 is the emergency services telephone number for the United Kingdom and a number of other countries. Upon further investigation I discovered that all over the world there are a number of different three-digit emergency services codes.
Upon reflection, this is obvious. I mean, not everyone speaks English so why should everyone dial 911 when their house is on fire. To remedy my own ignorance and to provide a quick reference here is a simple list of emergency services numbers around the world.
| Country | Information |
| United States & Canada | 911 is the home-town favorite. What you might not realize is that the new North American Numbering Plan reserves 911 for life-threatening situations. 311 is now set aside as an urgent telephone number for reporting minor incidents and crimes that are not currently in progress that don't warrant a 911 call. Some cities, like New York, use 311 for contacting miscellaneous municipal services. |
| Mexico | 060 is the main emergency number for police, fire, and ambulance and 066 and 080 are also mentioned in some lists. Mexico is, ironically, not part of the North American Numbering Plan and thus 911 and 311 will not work. |
| European Union | 112 is the emergency number for mobile and conventional telephone lines. It is also the international emergency telephone number for GSM mobile phones. Some European countries have other numbers for special services so be sure to check before travelling. 112 also works in the following countries:
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| United Kingdom | 999 is the primary emergency number for all services. 112 also works in the UK |
| China | This gets pretty complicated. On the mainland, dial these numbers:
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| India | 108 is the primary emergency number but 100 will get you the Police, 101 Fire, and 102 will get you an Ambulance. |
| Russia | Just to be difficult, the Russians use two-digit codes.
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| Brazil | There are a number of emergency numbers in Brazil depending on what you are calling about. Here goes the list:
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| Israel | There are three numbers to remember:
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| Saudi Arabia | Because they can't decide who they like more, the American 911 and European 112 both work in the kingdom. |
| Iran | Just dial 110 for all emergency services. |
Who is this guy?
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