Massive Power Outage Strikes Florida

[Icicle]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/26/florida.power/

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Power outages were reported from Miami to Jacksonville on Florida's east coast and as far north as Tampa on the Gulf Coast, police and utility officials said.

As many 800,000 Florida Power & Light Co. customers are without power Tuesday afternoon, the company said.

Mike Stone, a Florida Department of Emergency Management spokesman, said 2 million to 3 million people were affected. Power began returning to many of those areas within an hour and a half, officials reported.

The outage struck shortly after 1 p.m. ET. A strong cold front and scattered thunderstorms moved through the region, including one that prompted a tornado warning for Fort Lauderdale, the National Weather Service reported.

But the cause of the outage was not immediately known.

National Weather Service meteorologist Barry Baxter told the South Florida-based Sun-Sentinel that there were no major storms in the area at the time electricity went out that would cause such a large failure.

In Washington, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said there was no immediate concern that terrorism was behind the outage.

Stan Johnson, a spokesman for the North American Electric Reliability Council, said eight power plants were off-line across the region.

He said that officials believe the outage has been contained.

Both nuclear units at the Turkey Point power plant in Miami-Dade County were off-line as of about 2:30 p.m., Florida Power & Light nuclear-plant spokeswoman April Schilpp told the Palm Beach Post.

The units shut down after off-site power to the plants was halted, Schlipp told the Post. Another Miami-Dade County power plant, which isn't nuclear, also lost power, the Post reported Schilpp as saying.

Detective Robert Williams, a Miami-Dade County police spokesman, said power was out across the entire county.

In Palm Beach County, spotty outages ranged from Riviera Beach to Boca Raton, said sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera.

Outages stretched into neighboring Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, he said.

Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are home to nearly 6 million people.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that local schools, businesses and intersections are without power Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Orlando newspaper, about 7,000 customers of Kissimmee Utility Authority lost power for about 20 minutes Tuesday.

Power outage with no real reason? Odd o.x

 

[CharizardMaster]

Yeah I just heard, I'm one of the few residents in Florida not affected by the power outage.

 

[Cain]

Hmm, thats strange... Well, at least no one will be catching hypothermia.

 

[Icicle]

Yeah I just heard, I'm one of the few residents in Florida not affected by the power outage.

Wow, talk about lucky. I'm wondering if my boyfriend was affected =/. I figure if he snatches his friend's cell or is able to use his laptop I'll hear from him soon since I would assume he wouldn't have to be in work >_>;

Hmm, thats strange... Well, at least no one will be catching hypothermia.

Yeah, seriously.

 

[Chris]

Lights flickered here for a moment and resumed working.

 

[Aqua_Maiden]

I'm fortunate my lights are still on. I live in Miami. Most schools were put on lockdown for about an hour. Thank goodness though everybody is coming back online.

 

[Riversong]

Hmm strange, I wonder if my grandparents were affected.

 

[Brandon-kun]

last night around 7 PM, the lights went out for about 5 minutes, then started working again.

 

[chamo-chan]

............Hmm...that happened lately at my school, but I did not see it, (was absent, sick)

 

[Rave]

Wonder if that happened to Aegis too. =/

Well, seemed like a good chance for looting at that moment in time.

 

[Hakajin]

I'm in Decatur, Ga. right now, and there were blackouts here this morning. We didn't get any at my college, but... We had a bad storm this morning. I wonder if it was the same one that caused problems in Florida.

 

[Chris]

I'm in Decatur, Ga. right now, and there were blackouts here this morning. We didn't get any at my college, but... We had a bad storm this morning. I wonder if it was the same one that caused problems in Florida.

Wasn't storm related. Turns out FPL had to shut down two nuclear generators for "safety reasons" without saying what it was specifically. Can you say RADIOACTIVE LEAKS?

 

[Swampy]

My Grandparents live in Fort L. D: I tried contacting them but, do to them working at night, the bloody oldies were asleep. They should be awake now, so I'm curious to see how they're holding up and why they haven't returned my call.

I also have a few friends in florida (Jenni, Jakotsu, etc) and I hope they are all okay. Moreover, I'm glad to see old man over there wasn't hit by power outs. God knows what would happen to Chris, should he not have access to his electronics for over an hour. He'd prolly die. Or wank.

 

[Profesco]

Florida's probably a decent place to have a power outage. Besides dieing and, uh, wanking... you could just go swimming or sunning or something.

 

[Swampy]

Florida's probably a decent place to have a power outage. Besides dieing and, uh, wanking... you could just go swimming or sunning or something.

Last I checked, it was raining is most parts of Florida. u_u;

 

[Profesco]

Last I checked, it was raining is most parts of Florida.

That outta make the many waterslide parks the more enjoyable...

 

[Chris]

Moreover, I'm glad to see old man over there wasn't hit by power outs. God knows what would happen to Chris, should be not have access to his electronics for over an hour. He'd prolly die. Or wank.

I would most certainly die, you punk.

 

[Jakotsu]

It was only raining but I guess I was the few people in Crackuh Town not having a power outage. Maybe we did have one but I didn't pay attention. ._.;
Although there was a lot of heavy rain and thunderstorms. It made me feel happy and I was sleeping like a baby when all that happend.

One afternoon it was raining real hard and most places were flooded. There's this one mobile home sudivision that was flooded badly. x_x I saw some dead fishes floating around the roads. Wonder why we didn't have much of a power outage... +shrug+

 

[facetious]

In Washington, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said there was no immediate concern that terrorism was behind the outage.

Yeah, clearly terrorists were behind shutting out the lights in people's houses.

Who really cares? Power goes out here all the time and you don't see me calling out "TERRORISTS!"

 

[KetchupO]

Wow, da pretty lights went off