- US and Canadian authorities battled renewed chaos in
New York and other major cities as they struggled to end the worst power
cuts to hit North America.
-
- Amidst a frantic inquiry into the cause which saw the
two countries blaming each other, hundreds of flights were cancelled at
major airports, public transport remained crippled in many cities while
there were widespread appeal for people to stay home and conserve energy.
-
- Thousands of people unable to get back to their homes
slept on the streets of New York City where the first death -- a man who
suffered a heart attack in a fire -- from the outages was reported.
-
- And millions in the northeast United States and Canada
awoke to find there was still no power, with temperatures expected to shoot
past a sweltering 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius).
-
- New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said electricity had
returned to about a quarter of the city but substantial power supplies
would only return at the end of the day. He appealed for New Yorkers in
non-essential jobs to stay home.
-
- The city subway, where thousands were trapped in the
hours after the power cut started on Thursday, remained closed and few
buses and ferries were operating. But the New York Stock Exchange opened
on time.
-
- Major airports around New York and other affected cities
reopened but there was widespread disruption. American Airlines alone cancelled
182 flights early Friday and a spokesman expected the figure to grow.
-
- In the Canadian province of Ontario, where about 10 million
people suffered blackouts, premier Ernie Eves also asked people not to
go to work.
-
- Lights in western parts of Toronto, Canada's biggest
city, came back on at 2:47 am (0647 GMT), but Eves warned the public there
could still be rolling blackouts.
-
- For the thousands who spent the night sleeping on newspapers
and cardboard on New York streets, sunrise brought some relief.
-
- People who spent the night in the square said hundreds
had partied through the blackout, entertained by an impromptu jazz quartet
and other musicians.
-
- But the nightmare of how to get back to their families
and homes continued.
-
- New York firefighters, heroes of the September 11 terrorist
attacks, were out on non-stop runs through the night freeing terrified
people trapped in darkened elevator cars. Mayor Bloomberg said there were
800 lift rescues.
-
- Bloomberg said 10,000 police patrolled the streets directing
traffic and deterring looters. The 80,000 emergency calls was twice the
average.
-
- There were 60 serious fires, up from an average of 10
a night, but almost all appeared accidental caused by candles, the mayor
said.
-
- On top of the first fatality blamed on the power cuts,
one fireman was seriously injured, Bloomberg said. Emergency medical services
answered 5,000 calls, 600 more than their record for a 24-hour period.
-
- The blackout provided the first test of the US emergency
response network set up after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
-
- In the blackout zone, at least 21 power plants shut down,
affecting Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Newark and Ottawa, power officials
said.
-
- Two Air Force F-16 jets were sent out to patrol the skies
between Washington and New York minutes after the power outage and other
military aircraft in the eastern US were put on alert, The Washington Post
said quoting Pentagon officials.
-
- Authorities in Canada and the United States appeared
reluctant to take the blame for the cuts.
-
- Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien's office said Thursday
that lightning sparked a fire in a power plant in upstate New York near
the Canadian border, triggering the blackout.
-
- But a New York Power Authority spokesman denied there
had been a lightning strike at Niagara Mohawk.
-
- And Bloomberg and New York State governor George Pataki
both pointed the finger at Canadian power authorities.
-
- "It appears an event took place up in Canada, and
that the load shedding that perhaps they should have done was not done
in a way that prevented the New York power grid from having to try to supply
power," Bloomberg said.
-
- Asked what specifically caused the blackout that stranded
tens of millions: Pataki said "the New York independent systems operator
says they are virtually certain it had nothing to do in New York state.
And they believe it occurred west of Ontario, cascaded from there into
Ontario, Canada, and through the northeast."
-
- He added: "But why it happened, the specifics, why
the steps that were supposed to have been been taken to prevent this from
happening. .. those are questions that need to be answered."
-
- Pataki stressed the report that a British-owned Niagara
Mohawk power company plant was the cause was wrong, insisting the trouble
appeared to have originated in Canada.
-
- The outages have highlighted the antiquated state of
the North American power system, according to many experts and politicians.
-
- "This should not happen. We are in 2003. We are
the most sophisticated society in the world, and we have to have an energy
system that is reliable and where this type of systemic failure does not
occur," Pataki said.
-
- President George W. Bush has also promised a thorough
inquiry into the cause.
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