The 12 Biggest Blackouts In History
- 1. NORTHEAST UNITED STATES AND NORTHERN CANADA // NOVEMBER 9, 1965 ...
- 2. THAILAND NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT // MARCH 18, 1978 ...
- 3. CANADA'S GEOMAGNETIC STORM // MARCH 13, 1989 ...
- 4. SOUTHERN BRAZIL // MARCH 11, 1999 ...
- 5. INDIA // JANUARY 2, 2001 ...
- 6. NORTHEAST UNITED STATES AND CANADA // AUGUST 14-15, 2003 ...
- 7. ITALY // SEPTEMBER 28, 2003 ...
- 8. JAVA AND BALI, INDONESIA // AUGUST 18, 2005 ...
What was the largest blackout in history?
What happened? More than 50 million people in Ontario and the northeastern United States experienced the largest power outage in the history of North America on August 14, 2003.
What was the longest blackout in the US?
Northeast Blackout (1965) On Tuesday, November 9, 1965 there was a major disruption in the power supply for the Northeast that left over 30 million people without power. This blackout lasted up to 13 hours and affected many areas of the Northeastern United States including: Connecticut.
How long did the longest blackout last?
The largest blackout in U.S. history by far was Hurricane Maria, which left hundreds of thousands of residents in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands without power for more than 100 days total. This was not only the biggest, but also the longest blackout in U.S. history.
When was the last blackout in the USA?
The outage, which was much more widespread than the Northeast blackout of 1965, affected an estimated 10 million people in southern and central Ontario, and 45 million people in eight U.S. states....Effects.CityNumber of people affectedEstimated total55,000,00014 more rows
What state has the most blackouts?
CA is the state with the highest number of power outages every year. They also have to institute rolling blackouts from time to time due to wildfire risks. Some of the other states with high numbers of power outages include NY, MI, TX, and OH.
What would happen if the Earth lost power for 7 days?
And power plants across the world would fail. Whether they're fueled by coal, natural gas, or nuclear fission, it could take days or even weeks to restore them to full capacity. The cooling systems of nuclear reactors would fail, and total nuclear meltdowns would happen.
What caused 2003 blackout?
On August 14, 2003, a series of faults caused by tree branches touching power lines in Ohio, which were then complicated by human error, software issues, and equipment failures, led to the most widespread blackout in North American history.
Is a worldwide power outage possible?
A blackout of this nature has the possibility to happen on a global scale because of the chance of a massive solar storm. Large solar flares and solar storms have the potential to interfere with Earth's geomagnetic field.
What city in the US has the most power outages?
Topping the list of cities most likely to see big increases in their power outage risk are New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jacksonville, Florida; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Hartford, Connecticut.
Which country has the most blackouts?
Power outages in firms in a typical month (number) - Country RankingRankCountryYear1Pakistan20132Bangladesh20133Papua New Guinea20154Iraq2011117 more rows
What year did the grid go down?
August 14 and 15, 2003 - The northeastern U.S. and southern Canada suffered the worst power blackout in history. Areas affected extended from New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey west to Michigan, and from Ohio north to Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario.
Has New York ever had a blackout?
The 1977 outage lasted 25 hours and led to looting in many neighborhoods.
How long did the 2004 blackout last?
More than 50 million people across eight northeastern U.S. states and parts of Canada were left without power for at least 24 hours, and many of them were in the dark for weeks.
How long did the blackout of 2003 last?
While they had to endure about 30 hours without electricity, New Yorkers turned the blackout into a moment of urban solidarity: Citizens started to direct traffic since traffic lights were out; they helped each other out of trapped subway cars; welcomed in stranded colleagues who couldn't get home; restaurants held ...
How long did the blackout of 1977 last?
25 hoursThe 1977 outage lasted 25 hours and led to looting in many neighborhoods.
How long did the blackout of 1982 last?
Neighborhoods from Bushwick to Crown Heights lost power for around 16 hours until power was restored. Large-scale rioting and looting ensued as restoration was delayed. By the time power came back online, around 4,500 looters were arrested, and 550 police officers were injured. 1982 West Coast Blackout.
What was the biggest blackout in history?
Here are the biggest blackouts in history according to the sheer number of people left in the dark. 1. India Blackout 30-31 July 2012 (affected 620 million people) The end of July saw India struck down by what were the biggest and second-largest power cuts ever. Topped by only the United States and China, India is the world’s third-biggest producer ...
How long did the blackout last in Italy?
This was the largest in a series of large-scale blackouts in 2003. It affected all of Italy (apart from the islands of Sardinia and Elba) for up to 12 hours, as well as parts of Switzerland.
What caused the blackout in India?
It was caused by a relay problem near the Taj Mahal, which forced several power plants to disconnect from the grid . Approximately 38% of India’s power generation capacity went offline. The resulting blackout affected 22 out of 28 states in the north and east of the country.
What countries were affected by the blackout?
Described by the then Argentinian President Mauricio Macri as an “unprecedented” incident, the blackout affected all of Argentina (apart from the Tierra del Fuego region) and Uruguay, along with parts of Paraguay.
What happened to the substation in Bheramara?
A late-morning fault took out a substation in Bheramara, disrupting a 400 kV transmission line transport ing 445 MW of power into the Kushtia district from India.
Why was Turkey divided in half during the outage?
Turkey was basically divided in half during the outage. The western part suffered from a lack of generation, which meant the frequency dropped.
What caused the collapse of the grid in Uttar Pradesh?
On this occasion, a failure at the Uttar Pradesh substation kickstarted a collapse of the whole grid across the north of the country.
How many people died in the Blackout?
states were without power. 50 million people were inconvenienced for up to two days in what turned out to be the biggest blackout in North American history. 11 people died and there was a reported $6 billion in damages. The incident prompted the creation of a joint task force between the U.S. and Canada to minimize future blackouts.
How many people were affected by the Great Northeast Blackout?
But the city was no stranger to being forced into darkness. Fifty years ago today, The Great Northeast Blackout affected approximately 30 million people in both the U.S. and Canada, making it the single biggest power failure in U.S. history at the time.
What caused the Northeast blackout?
Initially, Canadian Defense Minister John McCallum blamed an outage at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania , which the state's Emergency Management Agency denied. What actually happened was a high-voltage power line in Northern Ohio brushed against overgrown trees, causing it to shut down. When the alarm system that would typically alert FirstEnergy Corporation failed, the incident was ignored. In the next 90 minutes, system operators tried to figure out what happened while three other lines switched off as a consequence of the first line's failure.
How many people were affected by the power outage in India?
A 12-hour power outage caused by a failure of an Uttar Pradesh substation triggered India's northern grid to collapse. This affected about 226 million people, or roughly a quarter of the country's population. The Confederation of Indian Industry estimated that the loss to business amounted to about $107.1 million.
Why was the blackout in India used?
Despite economic expansion in India, the blackout was used by some as an excuse to push for privatization of the electrical industry to bring it up to date. Enron was reported to have been contacted to help supply electricity during the crisis but insisted on a price that was three times higher than usual. 6.
What caused the power outages in Brazil?
When the Itapiu hydroelectric dam on the Paraguay-Brazil border suddenly stopped producing 17,000 megawatts of power, outages quickly spread through both countries. Suspiciously, the blackouts came two days after 60 Minutes reported that previous Brazilian power outages were caused by hackers. The CBS news magazine would later report that the 2009 incident was also the work of hackers, but a Wikileaks document would eventually refute that claim.
How long does an outage last?
The outage must last at least one hour. There must be at least 1,000,000 person-hours of disruption. For example: 1,000 people affected for 1,000 hours (42 days) or more would be included; fewer than 1,000 people would be not, regardless of duration.
How many people were affected by the power outage in New York City?
On July 13–14 in New York City, 9 million people were affected by a power outage. It was a result of a transmission failure due to a lightning strike on power lines. A second lightning strike caused the loss of two more overhead power lines, and the last power connection between New York City and the Northwest.
Why did Pakistan have a power outage?
On January 9, a power outage struck almost all of Pakistan, leaving around 200 million people without electrical supply. The blackout was due to a frequency drop resulting from a "fault" at Guddu at 11:41 p.m.
When did the power outage in Russia happen?
In January, a cyber attack disrupted power service in three cities north of Rio de Janeiro, affecting tens of thousands of people. On May 25–August 3, the 2005 Moscow power blackouts ten-week-long power outage affected more than two million people in central Russia.
How many people lost power in Utah?
On January 8, prisoners on a work assignment burning trash and debris at the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah, accidentally caused a major power failure when something they were burning exploded, causing a fireball that shorted out transmission lines above them. 1.5 million people lost power, in almost all of Utah, as well as parts of southeastern Idaho and southwestern Wyoming.
Why did the power plants in Lavrio and Megalopolis shut down?
On July 12, two power plants in Lavrio and Megalopolis, Greece, shut down due to malfunction within 12 hours of each other, during a period of high demand due to a heat wave. That led to a cascading failure causing the collapse of the entire Southern (Power) System, affecting several million people in southern Greece.
How long did Quebec have no power?
On March 13, the March 1989 geomagnetic storm caused the Hydro-Québec power failure which left seven million people in the Canadian province of Quebec without power for over nine hours.
Northeast United States and Northern Canada // November 9, 1965
Thailand Nationwide Blackout // March 18, 1978
- When generators in the South Pranakhorn Powerplant in Samut Prakan failed, a nationwide blackout spread throughout Thailand. It would be over nine hours before authorities were able to restore power. In May 2013, Thailand suffered another major power failure, sparking memories of the massive incident of '78.
Canada's Geomagnetic Storm // March 13, 1989
- On March 13, 1989 the entire province of Quebec, Canada suffered an electrical power blackout lasting 12 hours—and it was all thanks to the sun. Sometimes, the sun emits billion-ton clouds of ionized gas, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). On March 10, 1989, a CME "about the size of 36 Earths" and equivalent to "the energy of thousands of nuclear bombs exploding at the sam…
Southern Brazil // March 11, 1999
- In 1999, approximately 97 million of the 160 million people living in Brazil lost power in what was the biggest blackout ever at the time. A bolt of lightning struck an electricity substation, which in turn shut down Itaipu, which was the largest power plant in the world. 1,200 military police officers were placed in Rio to avoid looting, while cit...
India // January 2, 2001
- A 12-hour power outage caused by a failure of an Uttar Pradesh substation triggered India's northern grid to collapse. This affected about 226 million people, or roughly a quarter of the country's population. The Confederation of Indian Industry estimated that the loss to business amounted to about $107.1 million. Despite economic expansion in India, the blackout was used …
Northeast United States and Canada // August 14-15, 2003
- It took months before the real cause of the Northeast Blackout of 2003 was finally determined. Initially, Canadian Defense Minister John McCallum blamed an outage at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, which the state's Emergency Management Agency denied. What actually happened was a high-voltage power line in Northern Ohio brushed against overgrown trees, causing it to sh…
Italy // September 28, 2003
- Italy's 2003 blackout affected almost all of the country's 57 million people. Usually a middle-of-the-night power outage means that few people will notice it. However, this event occurred during the early morning hours after Rome's Nuit Blanche, an all-night arts festival. Because of this, trains were still running at 3:01 a.m. when a fault on the Swiss power system caused the overloading o…
Java and Bali, Indonesia // August 18, 2005
- At 10:23 a.m. on a Thursday morning, a failure in a 500 kilovolt transmission line between Cilegon and Saguling in West Java cut electricity supplies, leading to a massive 5,000 megawatt shutdown. Jakarta, the capital of the fourth most populated country in the world, lost power, and half of the Indonesian population — 100 million people — were without electricity for almost 11 h…
Germany, France, Italy, and Spain // November 4, 2006
- When German power company switched off a high-voltage line across the River Ems in order to let a cruise ship pass, 10-15 million Europeans lost power. The company said that the problems began in northwestern Germany when its network became overloaded, possibly due to that manual switch off (although transmission lines had been shut down in the past without incident)…
Chenzhou, China // January 24 - February 2008
- Winter storms resulted in a nearly two-week blackout for 4.6 million people around the central Chinese city of Chenzhou. Frustratingly, many citizens were without power during Chinese New Year celebrations. Some residents told reporters that they had to walk one kilometer to a well and back in freezing temperatures just to procure water. The official Xinhua News Agency said 11 el…