Italy is in the dark!
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 5:29 am
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Much of Italy is without power after a blackout swept the country early Sunday morning.
There are no reports of any injuries resulting from the outage, with authorities still trying to find out what caused the power to be cut.
First reports of the blackout came at about 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT). Officials told CNN the entire country of some 57 million people -- with the exception of the island of Sardinia -- lost power at some point.
Both of the lines importing electricity from France failed at the same time, something officials called an "extraordinary event." Italy imports most of its power from France and Switzerland.
A lightning strike or fallen tree, related to stormy weather overnight, may have caused the powerline interruptions, Italian officials said.
One of the lines has been partially restored, allowing much of the north and portions of southern Italy to regain power, officials said.
The French state-run exporter of electricity insisted that it was not responsible for the Italian power outage.
In the capital, Rome, daybreak brought some relief, but CNN Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci said most of the city still seemed to be without power.
Streetlights, traffic lights and public transportation across the city were all hit by the outage.
Italian television showed darkened streets and stranded travelers sleeping in a subway station.
Officials said restoring power to Rome was a top prioirity since it is the center of television and other communications systems for the country.
Emergency services say the timing of the outage -- early in the morning with most of the country asleep -- means they are expecting few if any casualties.
Hospitals and other emergency centers were operating using reserve power generators.
There are no reports of any injuries resulting from the outage, with authorities still trying to find out what caused the power to be cut.
First reports of the blackout came at about 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT). Officials told CNN the entire country of some 57 million people -- with the exception of the island of Sardinia -- lost power at some point.
Both of the lines importing electricity from France failed at the same time, something officials called an "extraordinary event." Italy imports most of its power from France and Switzerland.
A lightning strike or fallen tree, related to stormy weather overnight, may have caused the powerline interruptions, Italian officials said.
One of the lines has been partially restored, allowing much of the north and portions of southern Italy to regain power, officials said.
The French state-run exporter of electricity insisted that it was not responsible for the Italian power outage.
In the capital, Rome, daybreak brought some relief, but CNN Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci said most of the city still seemed to be without power.
Streetlights, traffic lights and public transportation across the city were all hit by the outage.
Italian television showed darkened streets and stranded travelers sleeping in a subway station.
Officials said restoring power to Rome was a top prioirity since it is the center of television and other communications systems for the country.
Emergency services say the timing of the outage -- early in the morning with most of the country asleep -- means they are expecting few if any casualties.
Hospitals and other emergency centers were operating using reserve power generators.
