2nd UPDATE:Blackout Affecting 40% To 50% Of Venezuela-Official

Electricity went out in downtown Caracas around 4 p.m. local time. The outage also took out mobile communications for some time. Calls to the local electric power company in Caracas resulted in a recorded message citing 'a generalized failure.' Employees from several office buildings downtown left their offices and were walking down the city's main downtown artery. Traffic lights were out and traffic was congested as policemen tried to handle the flow.