CleanSpark restores power after Hurricane Helene, which left 137 dead, millions without power, and disrupted Bitcoin mining, lowering its hashrate.
At least 137 people have died, and many more are still missing as a result of the powerful category 4 hurricane, and millions of homes and businesses are still without power.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic floods, power outages, and extensive damage across many US states, US Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark claims it is still attempting to restore electricity to its facilities.
When the Bitcoin miner was forced to shut down 365 MW at the southeast Georgia facility shortly after the hurricane struck on September 27, its hashrate dropped from 28 exahashes per second to 10.5 EH/s.
But since then, CleanSpark has brought 200 MW back online, raising its operating hash rate to 22 EH/s, according to a statement released by CleanSpark’s CEO Zach Bradford on September 30.
CleanSpark anticipates that the remaining 165 MW will reactivate by October 4 at the latest.
“Our teams are prepared to promptly restore normal operations as soon as power becomes available.”
The Bitcoin miner managed to sustain above 10.5 EH/s from its additional locations in Tennessee, Mississippi, and northwest Georgia.
Hurricane Helene, classified a category 4 (out of 5) hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, has not caused any “material damage,” according to Bradford, to CleanSpark’s mining infrastructure. Bradford continued, saying:
“We are not aware of any material losses related to our mining servers and will continue this evaluation as we energize the remaining sites.“
Bradford emphasized, “Most importantly, all our team members are safe.”
The death toll from Hurricane Helene is 137.
Regretfully, according to CBS News, Hurricane Helene has destroyed property and claimed at least 137 lives in seven US states: Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Elevated winds of up to 140 miles per hour resulted in road closures and significant flooding in several regions. With hundreds of individuals still unaccounted for, the death toll is predicted to grow.
Since Hurricane Helene landed on September 27, Bitcoin’s hash rate has varied between 538 EH/s and 745 EH/s, according to cryptocurrency mining platform CoinWarz.