On This Day in American History |
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On August 14, 2003, a major blackout grips vast swaths of the eastern United States and parts of Canada leaving more than 50 million people without power. The outage crippled New York City, Cleveland and Detroit and disrupted trains, air travel and cell phone service. It also left thousands trapped in the New York subway. While many had their power restored in about two hours, many were left in the dark for more than a day. Coming so soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many thought terrorism might be the culprit, but it turned out to be caused by trees coming into contact with power lines at the FirstEnergy Corporation’s EastLake plant in Ohio. |
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