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ON AUGUST 14 2003, an electricity outage caused by a tree branch in Ohio plunged more than 50 million people in North America and Canada into darkness.
It was the largest power outage in America’s history. Commuters in New York City and elsewhere had to sleep on steps, hitchhike or walk home as trains were rendered powerless and gas pumps stopped working, food spoiled as refrigerators and freezers thawed, water sold out as supply plants lost their ability to supply consumers and people were fearful it was a terrorist attack as it was just two years after 9/11.
Here are some pictures of the power outage:
Were you there at the time? Tell us about it in the comments section.
- additional reporting AP
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A single branch caused all this ?
Olive branch
Special Branch?
Incredible to think how dependant & vulnerable we actually are sometimes
We were in New York and were staying in Brooklyn. Waited at a bus-stop with bus after bus passing us by. Eventually a guy called Mohammed gave 6 of us at the stop a lift over the Brooklyn Bridge and wouldn’t take anything for his trouble. Said he was going to keep doing all night helping people over the bridge, he dropped us within a block of my cousin’s apartment. As well as us he gave an elderly lady with health problems, two Swedish musicians and an orthodox Jewish man. It was a real microcosm of New York. We were scared initally, especially when regular people started directing traffic on 5th Avenue and the helicopters were deployed over the city but everyone really looked out for each other. There were a load of rooftop parties that night and a lot of food given away as they couldn’t keep it!
Remember that day well. I was stranded in NYC. Happened around 4 pm in the afternoon. Power restored about 24 hours later.
I remember it well also, I was lifting the cover of an electrical panel in toronto and the whole building went dark. I walked out on to the loading dock and was so relieved to see all the traffic lights were also out, at least I hadn’t caused it.
It lasted almost 72 hours to get all of the power back on in ontario.
Epic memories though, what a time!!!
Actually it showed a great side of humanity, there was people hosting barbecue party’s on every street, homeless people were directing traffic for quite well, one of my neighbors, a lawyer, was directing traffic on bay st in d.t. Toronto for 6 hours. When’s the last time anybody seen a lawyer do anything for free!
You were lifting the cover off an electrical panel when everything went dark … you didn’t fabricate some story about a tree branch did you Gareth? :D
I swear to Christ, I’m a spark and I was
If you took a panel off a db, power went off and there was no bang. What would make you think you had anything to do with it?
Ah jasus
Ah, remember it well! Had to walk down from the 39th floor, went to the Seaport for beers hoping it would come back on. No such luck. Ended up walking to about 30th st till I finally managed to swing a cab to the Bronx. Then more beer :) Good times! No work the next day as the subways were still off. :)
I remember it too. I walked from 39th street all the way to the Staten Island ferry which was still running. Half of that walk was in heels until I found someone selling flip flops on the street.
I was on Canada at the time, aged 10 and recovering from a broken ankle. It was the first day day of our holiday we want out after I got my cast off. We went to a waterpark for the day. I spent almost 2 hours queuing for a ride that was supposed to be amazing. About 3pm, I was 2 people from the top of the queue and the power went so the ride had to stop. I was so upset! We had to leave the park and it took about 5 hours to get home. The thing that surprised me the most was that people took it upon themselves to direct traffic as the lights were out. What surprised me more was that all drivers obeyed them. If that was in Dublin, they would have been knocked down!
There are roughtly 19.5 million prople in NYC alone give or take,it must have looked like doomsday scenario
Was living there at the time
It sucked
Well I was cute enough to hit the deli for beer & the pizza place for there last cold slices before they closed
I got off easy people had to walk the highways home
I was there. I was 18 and alone in the city, unable to get back to my family.
Along with the electricity, the phones went down too.
I ended up sleeping part if the night in Central Park and part on 5th Ave. All the hotels had to close for security so there was thousands sleeping out.
People were hysterical initially screaming its another 9/11. I found it a terrifying night as I found the locals and cops unhelpful and unkind. It was in the middle of a heat wave too and the few stores that stayed open raised the price of water to $6.
The churches opened for part of the following day to offer respite from the heat and give water and information.
They should have called in the special branch
Sounds like Something Enron would have done to trade and make money
So…
Wow 10 years already! We had just immigrated to the states and we were staying in a hotel in Michigan. I found out there was a problem when I went to get petrol and the pumps were down. Hotel was hot and they wouldn’t provide food. Luckily one of my husbands colleagues took pity on us and we helped empty their freezer ;) good times.
I was there too. We had to walk up 17 flights of stairs after a few beers and it was very hot that day. Everyone was in great spirits after they realised it wasn’t a terrorist attack or anything sinister. Walked around the city the next morning and it was totally closed down.
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