On Monday, April 28, a massive power outage occurred in Spain and Portugal, leaving everyone without electricity. Some were on a train, some in class, and everyone was scared. They still don’t know the exact cause of why it happened.
Both countries ruled out cyberattacks, human error, and unusual weather phenomena. Investigations are ongoing, and various hypotheses are being considered.
That was one of the most severe blackouts Europe ever had. It grounded flights, paralyzed train systems, disrupted cellphone communication, and shut down ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula all in one day.
“We have never had a complete system collapse,” Sanchez said. Authorities were still investigating what happened on Tuesday.
By 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the Spanish electrical system was functioning normally and the Portuguese grid operator said power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers.
As life returned to normal, authorities in Spain had yet to provide further explanation to the nation of 49 million that lost all ability to communicate with their family and ask for help, all that in five seconds.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government’s priorities were to restore Spain’s electrical system and find the causes of the blackout so that a similar event “never takes place again”.
The blackout even caused some deaths. For example, in Madrid, a woman died due to a fire caused by the blackout. In Galicia, a couple and their son died due to carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator indoors. In Valencia, a 46-year-old woman who relied on an oxygen machine stopped breathing when it stopped functioning, and there are more.
Emergency workers in Spain said they rescued around 35,000 passengers on Monday stranded along the railway and underground. The blackout was especially disruptive for transit systems, turning sports centers, train stations and airports into makeshift refuges.
Ruben Carion, a citizen, was blocked on a commuter train outside Madrid but opened a window and walked to the nearest station. He and his friend later spent the night in Atocha Station. Sleeping on the floor “hungry, thirsty and tired,” the 24-year-old described his experience in two words: “pure chaos.”
