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N0KFQ > TODAY 14.08.15 15:43l 54 Lines 2495 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 63977_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Aug 14
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<7M3TJZ<JE7YGF<VE3UIL<CT1ENI<N0KFQ
Sent: 150814/1426Z 63977@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
2003
Blackout hits Northeast United States
On this day in 2003, a major outage knocked out power across the
eastern United States and parts of Canada. Beginning at 4:10 p.m.
ET, 21 power plants shut down in just three minutes. Fifty
million people were affected, including residents of New York,
Cleveland and Detroit, as well as Toronto and Ottawa, Canada.
Although power companies were able to resume some service in as
little as two hours, power remained off in other places for more
than a day. The outage stopped trains and elevators, and
disrupted everything from cellular telephone service to
operations at hospitals to traffic at airports. In New York City,
it took more than two hours for passengers to be evacuated from
stalled subway trains. Small business owners were affected when
they lost expensive refrigerated stock. The loss of use of
electric water pumps interrupted water service in many areas.
There were even some reports of people being stranded mid-ride on
amusement park roller coasters. At the New York Stock Exchange
and bond market, though, trading was able to continue thanks to
backup generators.
Authorities soon calmed the fears of jittery Americans that
terrorists may have been responsible for the blackout, but they
were initially unable to determine the cause of the massive
outage. American and Canadian representatives pointed figures at
each other, while politicians took the opportunity to point out
major flaws in the region's outdated power grid. Finally, an
investigation by a joint U.S.-Canada task force traced the
problem back to an Ohio company, FirstEnergy Corporation. When
the company's EastLake plant shut down unexpectedly after
overgrown trees came into contact with a power line, it triggered
a series of problems that led to a chain reaction of outages.
FirstEnergy was criticized for poor line maintenance, and more
importantly, for failing to notice and address the problem in a
timely manner-before it affected other areas.
Despite concerns, there were very few reports of looting or other
blackout-inspired crime. In New York City, the police department,
out in full force, actually recorded about 100 fewer arrests than
average. In some places, citizens even took it upon themselves to
mitigate the effects of the outage, by assisting elderly
neighbors or helping to direct traffic in the absence of working
traffic lights.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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