After leaving behind a trail of destruction in the Caribbean, Hurricane Sandy struck New York on October 29, 2012. There, the storm claimed the lives of 53 people, destroyed thousands of buildings, and caused severe disruptions of public infrastructure, including water supply, transportation, and electricity. By some estimates, over 2 million customers experienced power outages in the aftermath of the storm.
Just few years earlier, in 2007, Bangladesh was hit by one of the most powerful storms the country ever experienced. Cyclone Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal and quickly strengthened to reach sustained wind speeds of over 260 km/h. The storm hit Bangladesh on November 15, 2007 and caused the deaths of around 3400 people, according to the Government of Bangladesh. The cyclone also led to one of the largest blackouts ever recorded: 75 million people lost access to power, which translated into 1.9 billion customer-hours of lost electricity services.
These experiences underline not only the vulnerability of densely populated coastal areas to natural shocks but also more specifically the vulnerability of key lifeline infrastructure. Even in high-income industrialized economies, electricity infrastructure can be heavily affected by natural shocks. Moreover, historic data from many countries show that the power outages due to Hurricane Sandy and Cyclone Sidr were by no means isolated incidents. Natural hazards are indeed among the most frequent causes of electricity supply disruptions. In this article, the authors summarize existing data sources and research to illustrate the vulnerability of power systems to natural shocks.
Natural Shocks (Especially Storms) Are a Leading Cause of Blackouts
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