Hundreds of thousands pour onto New York streets after power cuts
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NEW YORK (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of New York as office blocks and other buildings emptied following a massive power cut. Outages were also reported in Detroit, Ottawa and Toronto.
Special measures strengthened after the September 11 attacks in 2001 were put into action but tensions rose as many people feared a new terrorist attack.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said however there was no evidence of a terrorist attack.
All shops shut and Grand Central station was evacuated and all subway stations were closed.
Main roads in the city were choked with cars and people as commuters tried to walk home. But traffic lights were also out of action adding to the traffic chaos.
Large swathes of Detroit and Cleveland lost their power shortly after 4:00 pm (2000 GMT).
"The first inkling we had was when the power went out in our building," said Len Singer, a spokesman for the Detroit utility, Detroit Edison, speaking from the company's headquarters in downtown Detroit.
Singer said the company was investigating numerous reports of blackouts. "It's too early to get a handle on it just yet," he said.
In the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe Park, Detroit resident Janet Braunstein was taking an afternoon nap when she noticed that everything had gone quiet.
"The radio went off, the air conditioners and ceiling fans stopped," she said. "I'd head out to a pool to cool off," she added, "but I can't leave my two dogs here on their own." |