Anxious New Yorkers struggled with a massive power outage on Thursday that stranded rush-hour commuters, left thousands stuck underground in the subway system and evoked powerful memories of the Sept. 11 attacks.

A massive power outage swept across swaths of the eastern United States and Canada on August 14, 2003, leaving sections of New York City, Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto without electricity, witnesses said. [Reuters Graphic]

City and federal officials moved quickly to reassure the public that the outage was not an act of terrorism.

"There is no evidence whatsoever of terrorism," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Federal officials, the Homeland Security Department and the FBI also said the outage was not caused by a terror attack.

"Everything is calm in the city," he added, saying power was expected to return sporadically over the next few hours.

New Yorkers said that regardless of the assurance, the outage was nerve-racking after the attacks on the World Trade Center less than two years ago. Millions of people poured into the streets.

"Everybody just flipped out," said nurse Mary Horan, describing her office. "Suddenly you start thinking about 9/11."

Horan was stranded, with hordes of others, outside Grand Central Station, which was shut down, trying to find a way home to the suburbs. Commuter trains were not running.

Jessica Nottes said she was on top of the Empire State Building when the power went out.

86 FLIGHTS

Travelers at Cleveland Hopkins Airport wait in the ticketing area after a power outage from New York to Cleveland shut down the airport Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003. [AP]

"We had to walk down 86 flights of stairs," she said. "I kept thinking about the Twin Towers and how I would get down. but everybody was calm."

Information on the streets was spotty, and rumors flew, as they did on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. "It's the whole East Coast," a man yelled as he ran through midtown Manhattan.

Traffic was gridlocked around the city, and residents were standing in busy intersections trying to direct vehicles. Millions of people had poured into the streets.

Authorities said planes were landing at the city's three major area airports but no flights could depart.

Subway service came to a complete halt, leaving thousands of rush-hour commuters stranded underground as the power crashed shortly after 4:00 p.m. EDT, just as rush hour was beginning.

Subway train staff described leading crowds of passengers out of the dark tunnels and up from the underground system into the streets.

Reminding many of the chaos of Sept. 11, people could be seen flooding through the streets of the city's downtown financial district toward the East River and Brooklyn Bridge.

"Scared," said Jeffrey Snop, of Queens, at the Times Square subway station. "It reminded me of 9/11 and stuff like that."

Power was out at the New York area's major airports. Commuter train service also came to a halt, and cellular telephone service was disrupted.

Massive power outages struck the New York area in 1977 and in 1965.

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