ManSlippers

Blackout Hits Parts of Eastern U.S., Canada
2 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A massive power outage swept across swaths of the eastern United States and Canada on Thursday, leaving sections of New York City, Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto without electricity, witnesses said.

Subways in New York came to a complete halt, and power was out at all three of the New York area's major airports. Commuter train service also came to a halt, and cellular telephone service was disrupted.

CNN reported a fire at a Con Edison power plant in Manhattan.

The Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Forked River, New Jersey was not functioning, according to people familiar with the plant's operation.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they did not know the reason for the power outages, but said the department was looking into it.

ManSlippers

No Buses, Trains, Subways Running in NYC -Police
6 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Port Authority Police said on Thursday a power outage that is crippling the New York region has shut down many transportation services.

"Right now the power outage is affecting all of our operations, We have no buses, no trains, no subways running. The airports have their perimeters secured and I can't say right now if flights are coming in or out," a spokesman for the Port Authority said.

U.S. air traffic was unaffected by the massive power outages in the United States and Canada, regulators said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) said that control centers and airport towers in New York and other American cities affected by the blackouts were running on diesel backup generators and flight operations were normal.

Kattie

I feel bad for those people. Hopefully the power will be restored soon.

On a lighter note, Gray Davis must be feeling better right now.

ManSlippers

HAHAHA yeah he probably is. This is still weird. It keeps spreading. Now it's on to Ottawa, Ontario, Quebec, NYC, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, Boston, parts of Connecticut...

ManSlippers

New York Official Says Power Grid Overloaded
16 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A New York State official said the Niagara Mohawk power grid overloaded on Thursday, causing a massive power outage, CNN reported, and New York Major Michael Bloomberg said it was likely a natural occurrence.

"It may be well into the evening before power comes back on," Bloomberg told the U.S. cable television network. He said smoke from a Consolidated Edison Inc. plant in the city was due to the plant's automatic shutdown, not to a fire, as had been reported.

He said, "I can tell you 100 percent sure that there is no evidence as of this moment whatsoever of any terrorism."

A massive power outage swept across swaths of the eastern United States and Canada on Thursday, leaving sections of New York, Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto without electricity, witnesses said.

It was not immediately clear whether the Niagara Mohawk problem caused the wider outage.

ManSlippers

Hundreds of thousands pour onto New York streets after power cuts
20 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AFP to My Yahoo!

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."

XRunner

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A major power outage simultaneously struck dozens of cities in the United States and Canada late Thursday afternoon.

Cities affected include New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. The power outage occurred shortly after 4 p.m.

Gov. George Pataki declared a state of emergency in New York City and the state and deployed additional state police.

State officials said the outage is likely a natural occurrence and not related to terrorism. They said the Niagara-Mohawk power grid, which provides power for New York and stretches into Canada, was overloaded.

"It's probably a natural occurrence which [struck] the power system up there," Mayor Michael Bloomberg told CNN. "The good news is, Con Ed's facilities have shut down automatically, which they're programmed to do." Consolidated Edison is the New York area power company.

Black smoke coming from a power station on East 14th Street "was a natural thing," Bloomberg said. "No damage was done to the Con Ed facilities," he said.

A statement from the Department of Homeland Security said, "The department is working with state and local officials an the energy sector to determine the cause of the outage and what response may need to be taken."

Bryan Lee, a spokesman for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said based on preliminary information it appears that a "cascading blackout" was caused by an outage at a Manhattan power plant, which has destabilized the power grid as far north as Canada and as far west as Detroit and Cleveland.

FERC and the Department of Energy were monitoring the situation and evaluating the problem, Lee said.

Frank McCarton, deputy commissioner for the Office of Emergency Management, said the blackout may have originated in Canada. "We understand that, from Con Ed, that we had a power surge and a dip and a failure that originated in Ontario," McCarton said.

Much of Midtown Manhattan and Wall Street was shut down. All area airports and the Long Island Railroad were also affected.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded planes at all three New York area airports and in Cleveland because the blackout affected security screening facilities. The FAA reported planes also were grounded at the Toronto airport. The airports were operating on backup power, officials said.

Bloomberg said it was unknown how long the outage may last.

The New York City Police Department said a number of people were trapped in elevators. Thousands of people could be seen leaving buildings and walking into the streets. New York subways were reported stopped and people were trapped in the cars.

"We are going to have a situation where people are going to have to walk a long distance. They need to be careful," Bloomberg said. "Our advice is to go home, open up your windows, drink a lot of liquids."

In Washington, a White House official said information about the situation was being relayed to President Bush, who was in California.

XRunner

its not in Boston yet.

ManSlippers

It's what the new programs are saying, so that's why I mentioned it.

XRunner

only like two towns in massachusetts have had blackouts. and some parts of connecticut, mainly hartford.