Government-directed shutdowns and power failures were the leading causes of internet disruptions worldwide during the third quarter of 2026, according to a new report by Cloudflare, which recorded 49 incidents across countries between July and September.
The company’s Cloudflare Radar platform found that government-directed shutdowns accounted for 19 incidents, followed by power outages with 14 and natural disasters with five. Of the government-imposed restrictions, 18 occurred in Iraq, where authorities repeatedly suspended internet services during examinations.
The findings underline the continued vulnerability of internet infrastructure to electricity failures, government restrictions, natural disasters and geopolitical conflicts, even as countries invest in expanding digital connectivity.
Cloudflare, whose global network handles more than 20 per cent of web traffic, monitors disruptions through changes in traffic patterns across its network. Its quarterly assessment examines the causes, duration and geographical impact of major connectivity failures.
Iraq accounts for most government-directed shutdowns
Government restrictions remained the single largest cause of recorded internet disruptions during the quarter, largely because of repeated examination-related shutdowns in Iraq.
According to Cloudflare, Iraqi authorities imposed 18 separate shutdowns, mostly between August 26 and September 28, with three incidents occurring during the first eight days of July.
The restrictions followed a fixed schedule, generally beginning between 03:30 and 04:00 UTC, and lasted between 15 and 90 minutes.
Iraq’s Minister of Communication, Mustafa Sanad, has acknowledged the shutdowns and indicated that the government intends to develop a digital examination system that would eliminate the need to suspend connectivity during examinations, according to Internet Society Pulse, cited in the Cloudflare report.
Elsewhere, renewed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region was accompanied by a government-directed internet shutdown lasting 10 days.
Cloudflare recorded a complete loss of internet traffic in the affected region, while country-level HTTP traffic declined by as much as 30 per cent.
The disruption raised concerns about access to communication services in a region that experienced extensive telecommunications restrictions during Ethiopia’s civil war between 2020 and 2022.
Power outages expose weaknesses in internet infrastructure
Electricity failures were the second-largest cause of disruptions, with 14 incidents recorded across 10 countries.
Cuba experienced four power-related internet outages during the quarter, reflecting continued instability in its electricity grid. The incidents occurred on July 6, July 14, August 3 and September 18-20.
The August 3 outage resulted in a 59 per cent decline in internet traffic, while the July 14 disruption caused an 18 per cent reduction.
In Honduras, a power failure at an interconnection facility on September 10 disrupted services across at least 11 major internet providers. National HTTP traffic fell by 63 per cent during the approximately three-hour outage.
The incident highlighted the risks associated with concentrating network connectivity at critical infrastructure facilities, where a single failure can affect multiple operators.
In Ukraine‘s Sevastopol, a power outage on July 5 caused an eight-hour internet disruption, with HTTP traffic declining by 98 per cent.
Another incident on August 12, following drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure, resulted in a ten-hour disruption and a traffic decline of up to 95 per cent.
Power-related disruptions were also recorded in Eswatini, Botswana, Tajikistan, Kenya, Saint Lucia, Georgia and Gabon.
Cloudflare also identified a cooling system failure at a data centre in Phoenix, United States, on August 13, which caused a near-total decline in internet traffic from domain registrar Namecheap’s network.
The incident demonstrated how failures in supporting infrastructure, including cooling systems, can affect digital services even without a wider electricity blackout.
Earthquakes, floods disrupt connectivity
Natural disasters accounted for five disruptions during the quarter, with earthquakes, flooding and severe storms damaging electricity and telecommunications infrastructure.
In Colombia, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in August damaged fibre-optic infrastructure and caused an internet disruption lasting approximately four-and-a-half days. Cloudflare recorded a significant decline in traffic from Colombia Telecomunicaciones.
In Japan, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto prompted evacuation orders affecting approximately 150,000 people. The disruption was primarily visible in desktop internet traffic, while mobile connectivity remained largely unaffected.
Nepal also experienced connectivity problems after flash floods struck the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems on August 26.
The floods damaged infrastructure and essential services across Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts. Cloudflare recorded a two-hour internet disruption, with HTTP traffic declining by as much as 18 per cent.
Meanwhile, Guam faced another major storm-related connectivity disruption after Super Typhoon Bavi damaged power transmission lines, causing widespread electricity failures and a prolonged recovery in internet traffic.
Internet outages also affect developed markets
The report also identified disruptions in countries with comparatively resilient telecommunications infrastructure, including the United States, Japan and Portugal.
Among individual network incidents, Cloudflare recorded outages affecting One Communications in Guyana following a cable cut, MEO in Portugal following a reported attack, Digicel Haiti, TurkNet in Turkey and Fanap Telecom in Iran.
In Russia’s Far East, damage to fibre-optic cables on September 19 disrupted connectivity across several regions during nationwide elections. Russian telecommunications operator Rostelecom described the incidents as deliberate damage to backbone infrastructure.
However, Cloudflare said its traffic data could not establish whether the cable damage was connected to the elections.
Despite the disruptions, the report also pointed to the ability of internet networks to recover relatively quickly from many incidents.
According to Cloudflare, traffic returned to normal levels within an hour in 14 disruptions, while 16 incidents recorded recovery times of less than three hours.
However, the company observed that even relatively brief outages can have significant consequences during natural disasters, political unrest and conflict, when internet connectivity is essential for accessing information, coordinating emergency responses and seeking assistance.
The findings suggest that improving internet resilience requires more than expanding network capacity. Reliable electricity, geographically distributed infrastructure, effective disaster preparedness and policies governing access to connectivity remain critical to keeping digital services operational.
