SAN DIEGO (voa) – President Bush says he plans to order a review of Thursday’s massive power blackout in the northeast United States and Canada.
Mr. Bush, speaking from California Thursday, said he suspects the U.S. electrical power system will need to be modernized.
The president’s comments came hours after services were disrupted and events canceled due to the power blackout, during which 21 power plants were knocked out in three minutes.
In New York, all Broadway shows were canceled, and a professional baseball game was postponed.
Traffic lights are knocked out in the cities without power, causing problems as hundreds of thousands of people tried to walk home amid thousands of cars stuck in traffic. Red Cross volunteers took to the streets to help people cope with the stifling summer heat. Many hospitals are operating on backup power generators.
The U.S. Treasury Department says the power went down after financial markets closed Thursday, so markets and exchanges were able to shut down in an orderly manner. The New York Stock Exchange says it is set to open normally on Friday. Stock exchange officials say they lost no data from Thursday’s trading session.
Rescue workers are reporting progress in helping people trapped in elevators and on subway platforms. Train services have been knocked out but some has been restored, and cell phone services were disrupted.
