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A massive power outage struck the northeast on Thursday, 14 <br />August 2003. The blackout was said to have been caused by <br />a software bug in the alarm system in the control room of <br />FirstEnergy. Areas affected by the outage included New York <br />City and Albany, New York; Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio; <br />Detroit and Lansing, Michigan; parts of New Jersey and <br />Connecticut; as well as Toronto and Ontario, Canada. The <br />most extensive power failure in history, it shut down 10 major <br />airports, 9 power plants, affected 50 million people, and led to <br />a declared State of Emergency in New York City. The Ford <br />Motor Company lost production capability at 21 of its facilities. <br />In New York City alone, at least two fatalities were linked to the <br />use of flames to provide light, and many nonfatal fires also <br />resulted from the use of candles. The preliminary economic <br />impacts of this event are large. It is estimated that this power <br />failure cost approximately $1 billion, including $800 million in <br />unsold goods and services and $250 million in spoiled food. <br />Starting Aug 31, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused widespread <br />power outages throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, <br />Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Exact totals are hard to <br />even define especially in Louisiana parishes which became <br />unoccupied for months. Power was also knocked out to 1.3 <br />million customers when Katrina passed over Florida several <br />days earlier. In total 2.6 million people were left without power <br />as a result of the storm across the United States. <br />On February 26, 2008 a failed switch and fire at an electrical <br />substation outside Miami triggered widespread blackouts in <br />parts of Florida affecting four million people. The failure <br />knocked out power to customers in 35 southern Florida <br />counties and spread into the northern Florida peninsula. The <br />affected region ultimately ranged from Miami to Tampa on the <br />state's west coast and Brevard County, home to Cape <br />Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, on the east. <br />Extent. Due to the low probability of occurrence, this hazard <br />will not be fully profiled. <br />Vulnerability Assessment. Power failure can have the <br />following potential impacts on a community: <br />• Electrical power outage; <br />Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Basic Page 68 <br />