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region's outdated power grid.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.
In New York City alone, the estimated cost of the blackout was more
than $500 million.
history.com/tdih.do
1784 : Russians settle Alaska
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5259
1900 : Peking relieved by multinational force
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6989
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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.
In New York City alone, the estimated cost of the blackout was more
than $500 million.
history.com/tdih.do
1784 : Russians settle Alaska
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5259
1900 : Peking relieved by multinational force
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6989
##########################################
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