Blackout

Originally, I was going to write about the mini skirt debacle, the attack on Caetano, or why Madonna in Brazil terrifies me, but all that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Last night, a massive blackout hit south and central Brazil, including the states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, DF, Goias, and Espirito Santo. Later reports included other states as well, including Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco, and Bahia. Rio, however, was the worst hit.

Something, though it's not clear what, happened to the Itaipu hydroelectric dam, one of the largest in the world, that provides electricity for a large portion of Brazil as well as Paraguay (there was a power outage in Paraguay, too). Coincidentally, the blackout occurred days after a 60 Minutes report about two power outages in Brazil in 2005 and 2007 believed to have been caused by hackers.

People joked around on Twitter, saying it was a marketing ploy for the movie 2012, or that Madonna was to blame. But the truth was that it was really scary, with the two largest cities in the country plunged into darkness, especially during the beginning of the summer with high temperatures. Early reports claimed that there was a total outage at Itaipu, and that it was caused by some sort of "accident" or "disruption." Another report claimed it was related to bad weather. A source at BBC claims a short circuit in Sao Paulo (?) caused the blackout.

In the meantime, reports from Rio claimed thugs were taking advantage of the darkness to mug people left in the streets. The governor allegedly sent both the police and SWAT teams (BOPE) into the city to ensure order (que pena he doesn't do that on a regular basis when there is electricity), and several BOPE teams were sent to man two of the major highways. In Sao Paulo, city officials suspended the usual traffic arrangements of rotating license plates, and urged people not to go out in the morning. Supposedly, people stranded in Sao Paulo crowded bus stops, and those who couldn't get onto the buses hitched rides on the backs of trucks. The Globo website was down during and after the blackout.

Interestingly, Itaipu started a Twitter account last night after the blackout and started following people who had mentioned it. They released an official statement declaring that the cause of the blackout did not originate at the plant itself, and that it was probably due to an accident that affected the plant's energy transmissions. They were quick to point out that in the 25 years of its existence, Itaipu had never had all 20 generators completely shut down. This, somehow, was not particularly reassuring.

While some will be quick to accuse Brazil of having vulnerable technology, this is something that could have happened anywhere. What's terrifying is how a single power plant could affect so many people, and how dangerous a prolonged blackout could be. This incident should be a warning to every country about just how vitally important power grid security is.

But if one positive thing came from the blackout, it is most definitely this.

Comments

[Ernesto]

For some reason Pernambuco (and, specifically, Olinda) keeps appearing on these lists, even though there was absolutely no interruption of power here. (Not for me working on my computer; or Lili watching TV; or the neighbor playing Lady Gaga until 1am).

It's funny that I don't normally stay up to watch Profissão Reporter, but I did last night because, well, it's hard not to stop and watch a car crash (literally; the show was on transit in São Paulo). Then they interrupted programming (Globo, Rede Nacional) over and over again to talk about the outage. And I wondered, how are those affected watching this?

The funniest part of the coverage was a sleepy energy minister asked "which states are affected?" to which he responded: "São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Goiás and Paraguai." LOL

Anyway, I never got to watch Profissão Reporter because I myself got sleepy and went to bed. That's how the blackout affected me. :-)

[Galima Akhmadullina]

Hello Rachel! Could we please record your 1-minute video comment about the blackout for our news http://zvezdanews.ru/ We would be happy to have you on our news, please contact me as soon as you can!

[brazinglish]

It was 1930 all over again. Sitting by the window with a candle and a "radinho de pilha"...
The reports about Rio seemed straight out of Hollywood.
All I could think of was the 60 Minutes report (I had read about it a day before) and how thankful I was for being home, and not being in the elevator, hehe.

It made for cool pictures nonetheless.

That video is amazing!

[Simone]

É, Raquel, you got that right!! That could happen anywhere, even, and especially, here in the US. I have heard over and over how vulnerable the American grid is, and how we are not prepared for a hacker attack at all.

Vale a pena alertar. It's well worth to use this example as a warning. But it is also true that Brazil has a huge infrastructure problem, as you might know.

This outage was massive (about half of Brazilian's population, around 50 millions!) but this has happened before, affecting huge cities such as Rio and SP at the same time. So, yes, it is not a matter of the current gov or past. It goes way back into the past.

That said, I still think this issue (especially if confirmed to have been work of hackers), require more attention, and preparedness from all governments.

By the way, nice meeting you yesterday! As you see, I am always reading your blog. Great work!

Beijos. :)

PS: You can find my take on the blackout here (em português) http://www.latampost.blogspot.com/

[mallory elise]

well, they must have something together if they got it back on so quickly :)

[Tricia]

So funny this happened in the middle of my husband´s birthday and we ended up having A LOT of family and friends for a sleepover party! Ironic you mentioned Madonna in this post--they showed a video on Globo of her hotel room with all its lights on during the black out. I guess somehow or another Madonna can do anything, eh?

[Monika]

Hi Gringa,
Where were you on August 14,2003 ????
I supposed to have a C-secion here, in New York City, but i needed to postpone for the next week, because we had a huge blackout.Until today, we don't know exactly what happened that day.
I have a police depto. right in front on my building and the policemen were there having fun, doing barbecue, drinking beer during this difficult time..
you know what ??? shit happens... anywhere, anytime.. Brazil is not the only one country...and USA is not the best one.