This is a list of notable wide-scale power outages. To be included, the power outage must conform to all of the following criteria: The outage must not be planned by the service provider. The outage must affect at least 1,000 people and last at least one hour. There must be at least 1,000,000 person-hours of disruption.
Definition of decimate for English Language Learners. : 1  to destroy a large number of (plants, animals, people, etc.) : 2  to severely damage or destroy a large part of (something)
Usage notes. Senses of decimate other than to reduce by one in ten are occasionally proscribed but to devastate has now become the more common usage. The sense to reduce to one in ten is etymologically unsound and omitted by the OED but increasingly common.