NEW YORK - At least 7.3 million homes and businesses on the U.S. East Coast were without power on Tuesday after Hurricane Sandy tore down power lines, flooded networks and sparked an explosion at a Consolidated Edison substation on Manhattan's East River.
Almost a quarter of New York City homes were without power
13 hours after Sandy roared ashore with hurricane strength
winds, felling trees and bringing a dangerous tidal surge that
has paralyzed the transport system in the United States’ biggest
city.
Power providers reported outages in every state from North
Carolina to the Canadian border and as far inland as Ohio and
Indiana. At 9:00 A.M. outages were approaching the total from
Hurricane Irene last year, according to Reuters calculations
based on figures provided by utilities.
Outages caused by Hurricane Irene peaked around 8.4 million.
The total outage caused by Sandy is likely higher as it does not
include homes that have already been restored or the smallest
power providers on the East Coast.
The figures represent homes and businesses, meaning the
total number of people affected will be far higher.
“This is the largest storm-related outage in our history,”
said John Miksad, Con Edison’s senior vice president for
electric operations.
An explosion at a substation on Manhattan’s East River on
Monday night contributed to the power cuts, and could complicate
efforts to restore power. The vast majority of the island below
39th street — just south of Times Square — was without power.
Over 700,000 homes and businesses were without power in New
York City and Westchester county, out of a total of 3 million
Con Edison customers.
In New Jersey, power provider Public Service Electric and
Gas (PSE&G) said in a Tweet that more than 1.2 million
customers were without power, “making it the largest storm in
PSE&G history.”
The company asked customers to be patient as “unprecedented”
flooding threatened to leave homes without power for days.
Customers in the hardest hit areas could be without power
for more than a week, utilities have warned.
“We expect that some customers will be without power for as
long as 7 to 10 days,” said the state-owned Long Island Power
Authority (LIPA), which has 84 percent of its 1.1 million
customers in New York without power.
One forecasting company predicted economic losses could
ultimately reach $20 billion nationwide, only half insured.
Connecticut Light and Power said 87 percent of its
customers were without power.
Back-up generators failed at New York University Hospital in
Lower Manhattan on Monday night, forcing patients to be moved
elsewhere for care.
Con Edison workers were also trapped for three hours by
rising flood waters inside a power substation before being
rescued by firefighters using inflatable boats.
Power providers emphasized that customers must stay away
from downed power lines. One woman in New York City was killed
after stepping into an electrified puddle.
