{
  "id": 740269,
  "title": "Urban crow surge fuels blackouts, other accidents",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/urban-crow-surge-fuels-blackouts-other-accidents",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T07:02:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/environment-animals/20260813/urban-crow-surge-fuels-blackouts-other-accidents"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A growing number of crows in urban areas, such as Busan and Seoul, have been causing power outages and accidents. On Sunday, over 980 households in Busan were left without electricity for an hour after a crow flew into electrical equipment. This occurred just the day before another incident that affected 986 households. In Seoul's Mapo District on July 8, a crow's contact with a high-voltage line left 286 households without power.\n\nThe issue extends beyond mere inconvenience. In June, a concrete truck driver in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, was severely injured when a crow caused a power line to fall onto his vehicle, electrocuting him. These incidents highlight a larger problem: as crows become more common in cities, they are increasingly building nests near power lines and foraging in residential neighborhoods, leading to more frequent and serious accidents.",
  "summary": "More than 980 households in Busan lost power Sunday after a crow came into contact with electrical equipment, authorities said. The outage left residents without air conditioning for about an hour amid a record-breaking heat wave. This incident came only a day after another outage affected 986 households in the same city, which authorities also believe was caused by crows coming into contact with…",
  "key_points": [
    "Over 980 Busan households blacked out due to crow electrocution",
    "Seoul Mapo District sees 286 power outages from crow contact",
    "Crow nesting near power lines causes injuries and accidents"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The surge in urban crows is escalating into a public safety issue, causing frequent power outages and accidents that can have severe consequences for residents and infrastructure.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Urban crow surge fuels blackouts, other accidents",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/urban-crow-surge-fuels-blackouts-other-accidents-741064",
        "published": "2026-08-13T07:12:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}