Stranded people who were making their way home from an all-night festival, wait for the rain to stop in Rome's Repubblica subway station, during a nationwide blackout, early Sunday Sept. 28.
ROME, Sept. 28 — A massive blackout hit Italy on Sunday, cutting power to millions of people who woke up to find their phone lines silent and their televisions black, while drivers struggled through streets without traffic lights and trains remained stuck on the tracks.
Most of Italy's 57 million people were left without power, compared to the 50 million affected during the Aug. 14 blackout in the United States and Canada. By mid-morning, power was returning to the north but still remained out in most of Rome and the south.
Authorities urged citizens not to panic.
“Everybody stay calm,” said Civil Defense chief Guido Bertolaso. “There is no major crisis at the moment.”
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