In each case, a small problem in a critical part of the system, caused system overload elsewhere and exposed other minor problems that lead to massive failure. The loss of power interrupted water supplies and switched off fridges and petrol pumps as well.
These complex, integrated systems respond unpredictably to minor problems.
A 1.4 megaton nuclear device exploded 250 miles above the North Pacific in 1962, blew out streetlights and telephones in Hawaii, 800 miles away. Mobile phones and personal computers were still fictional in 1962.
Twenty years later, interest rates were rising along with fears of neutron bomb attack.
Johnny Carson observed that scientists have invented a weapon that destroys human life, but leaves buildings standing. “It is the 17% interest rate,†he quipped.
In this context, it is interesting to note that the Internet was invented precisely to avoid this threat. A network of networks, with no central control and intelligent connections that automatically channel traffic to the fastest link, it was created to survive electro-magnetic pulse weapons.
Ironically, communication companies, media giants and many governments spend vast sums to tame the Internet and to re-establish central control. In some cases, such as the Great Firewall of China or commercial firewalls and routers, this attempt is deliberate. The cost of building an Internet backbone, though, is the major culprit. A small number of fast links still carry the majority of traffic.
The loss of Internet services to India, Pakistan and Iran last year because a submarine cable became snagged by a US naval vessel may have been deliberate or accidental; either way, it proves that the Internet is vulnerable, as the Gold Coast discovered last week.
You and I, dear reader, can leave these high level considerations for the International Institute of Electronic Engineers. There is, however, one significant lesson for all of us.
If your home does not have its own rainwater supply, there is no food in your garden, and you have no way to get to the nearest shop without your car, you may want to consider how you would survive if the power went off for a week.
A report to the British Government last month revealed that there is only enough food stored in UK shops and warehouses to supply nine meals for each Briton. If the power went off or oil imports were interrupted for more than three days, some poms would starve.
I’m not saying that the end of the world is nigh and you should start loading the baked beans into the bunker. I am saying that the future will be less stable than the recent past and we all need to start living so that we can remain comfortable when the power and water supply are interrupted.
The always-on network may not be always there.
Giovanni Ebono is on Bay FM 99.9 from 9am this morning.