 NORTHEAST BLACKOUT, AUGUST 2003: TOP: Shows area of blackout before it began. BOTTOM: Shows the same area seven hours after the blackout. (United States Geological Survey) |
In addition to the initial four case studies described in this section, the Volpe Center also performed a study of the effects of the Northeast Blackout, August 14, 2003, on the New York City metropolitan area and the Great Lakes Region.
NORTHEAST BLACKOUT, AUGUST 2003
Shortly after 2:00 p.m. on August 14, 2003, a brush fire caused an electrical transmission line south of Columbus, Ohio to initiate a series of failures that caused widespread power outages through the Great Lakes area and east through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and parts of New England, cutting off power to 50 million people and leaving 3,700 square miles of the United States in darkness. The New York City subway system ground to a halt, stranding more than 400,000 passengers in tunnels. Rush hour traffic was gridlocked in and out of Manhattan, Cleveland, and Detroit as traffic signals went dark. Thousands were stuck in sweltering elevators, some for hours.
The Northeast Blackout--massive as it was--was only one of 56 federally declared disasters in 2003, an average of more than one per week. Each year hurricanes, floods, landslides, wildfires, tornados, avalanches, ice storms, and power outages cause untold damage.
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: August 2003, Northeast Blackout New York City, March 2004, DOT-VNTSC-FHWA-04-04. http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//jpodocs/repts_te//14023.html
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: Crosscutting Study, http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//jpodocs/repts_te//13780.html |
