EXCLUSIVE1.4 million people plunged into darkness as solar storm causes terrifying blackouts across swath of US
READ MORE: Solar storm set to hit in matter of HOURS causing global blackouts
By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 17:18 EDT, 17 April 2025
More than 1.4 million people in Puerto Rico were plunged into darkness Wednesday after power went out across the entire island.
Local power authorities reported a system failure around 12:40pm —the same time a powerful geomagnetic storm was striking Earth.
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disruption of Earth's magnetic field caused by a large burst of solar plasma, typically from a coronal mass ejection on the sun.
Dr Tamitha Skov, an independent space weather physicist, told DailyMail.com that the blackout occurred nearly simultaneously with the intensification of the geomagnetic storm to G4 levels.
A G4 geomagnetic storm—classified as severe on a scale from G1 to G5—can interfere with power grids by producing geomagnetically induced currents (GICs), which may overload transformers and other critical infrastructure.
Officials warned Wednesday that the storm could disrupt the management of electricity flow across the grid, potentially triggering automatic safety systems to shut down parts of the network unintentionally.
Josué Colón, Puerto Rico's energy chief and former executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, explained that all generators shut down after a failure in the transmission system, even though only one should have entered protective mode.
'This added stress from GICs likely worsened an already fragile system, especially with power usage near peak levels in the middle of the day,' Dr. Skov added.
more:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14623539/US-plunged-darkness-massive-solar-storm-puerto-rico.html