Tonight:
5°c
Brazil blackout plunges millions into darkness
Ed Harris11 Nov 2009
Brazil's two largest cities, and much of the rest of Latin America's biggest nation, were hit by blackouts after a major power failure.
Millions of people were left without power for more than two hours last night after a huge hydro-electric dam suddenly went "offline". All of neighbouring Paraguay also lost power.
The giant Itaipu dam straddling the border between the two nations stopped producing 17,000 megawatts, resulting in cuts in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other big Brazilian cities.
The cuts hit nine of the 27 states in a country of more than 190 million people. Power was restored at 12.37am, as the lights in Rio's Copacabana district flashed back to life, prompting cheers and the honking of car horns.
"It's sad to see such a beautiful city with such a precarious infrastructure," said Igor Fernandes, 22, a law student.
The cause had not been determined, but energy minister Edison Lobao said storms uprooted trees near the dam just before it went offline.
Rio was the hardest hit. He said the hydro plant was working, but there were problems with the power lines. Brazil uses almost all of the energy produced by the dam, and Paraguay the rest. All of Paraguay reportedly went dark for 20 minutes.
Flavia Alvin, 37, a shopkeeper in Copacabana, said she had not feared looting. "All I can do is wait and drink a beer."
