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Hurricane Isabel's damage in Richmond, Va.
Salt deposits force shutdown of three reactors
RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 22, 2003 -- More than a million residents and businesses from the Carolinas to New York are still without power as Hurricane Isabel's floodwaters begin to recede. Some regions are seeing their fifth day without power, a frustrating realization for many residents who are trying to restore normal life.
At its peak, the storm cut power to more than 6 million from the Carolinas to New York, reported The Daily Press in Hampton Roads, Va. By Sunday morning, that figure had been whittled to about 1.8 million.
Three nuclear reactors were shut down over the weekend because of excessive salting in the switchyards, PSEG Nuclear reported. The 1,150 MW Salem 1 and 2 nuclear units and the 1,100 MW Hope Creek reactor in New Jersey got through the Hurricane, but high winds and rough water in the Delaware River caused a salt crust to form in the two switchyards, Reuters News Service reported.
The salt deposits caused faults and arcing, automatically shutting down Hope Creek Friday evening. Workers manually took Salem Units 1 and 2 off line Saturday morning. Both power stations are located about 18 miles southeast of Wilmington, Del.
The storm caused at least 33 deaths, and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware were declared federal disaster areas, the Associated Press reported. The federal government in Washington, D.C., reopened for business Monday after being closed for two days.
Flooding has contaminated water supplies in several regions, prompting the need to boil and disinfect water.
Virginia's electric customers suffered the worst power outages, and the state's biggest electric utility, Dominion Virginia Power, said it was down to about 758,000 that were still without power Monday morning.
Dominion has restored power to 1.1 million customers so far, the company said, or about 60 percent of its service area.
All hospitals that lost power because of the hurricane have been restored. Crews restored power to 32 primary water-pumping stations in the 30,000-square mile service area. The company is continuing to work with municipalities to identify other public infrastructure -- such as schools -- which need power.
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Workers repair a pole in Tidewater, Va., after Hurricane Isabel.
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