A massive blackout of electricity has left much of Spain, Portugal, France and even Andorra without power, bringing all railway services and traffic at airports to a standstill. Underground services are not running and the main stations are being evacuated. Traffic lights are also not working, while the causes of this widespread failure of the electricity grid are not yet known.
According to numerous media reports in Spain, the blackout has mainly affected the Iberian Peninsula, mainly Spain but also parts of Portugal and France. In Spain, only Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands have been spared the effects of this massive power cut because they have their own independent power supply network, but this is not the case for the main cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Malaga, Bilbao… Entire communities are without electricity, including Murcia, Castilla-Leon and Asturias, according to reports obtained by Hispanatolia. However, at 1:40 p.m., power seemed to have been partially restored in northern and southern Spain.
The Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas International Airport also remains without electricity and has had to suspend part of its operations because telecommunications have also been affected. According to the latest information, other airports have also been affected, although it is reported that Terminal T4 is operating relatively normally, but the main problem is how to get to or leave the airport. In large cities such as Madrid, the suspension of metro and rail services and the power cut to traffic lights has created scenes of chaos in the city centre. Situation was similar in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon.
Authorities are asking people not to use their cars because traffic lights and information panels are not working and to keep the roads clear for emergency services. Despite this, there have been queues of cars stretching for miles and miles, leaving the centre of large cities such as Madrid. Meanwhile, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente announced this afternoon that he considers ‘impossible’ to restore medium and long-distance train services today.
While an emergency meeting has been called in Madrid by the government and the cabinet of ministers to address this emergency situation, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior has called on the population to remain calm, but the truth is that the causes of this massive power cut are still unknown and thousands of users are trying to gather the little information available through social media. Officials from Red Eléctrica in Spain confirm that the blackout occurred around 12:30 CET and that ‘plans to restore power’ have been activated and ‘all resources’ are being dedicated to solve the problem, admitting that this is an ‘exceptional and extraordinary’ event.
In addition to the Iberian Peninsula and parts of France, some sources are also reporting power outages in other European countries such as Belgium. The causes of the blackout are unknown at this time, and all options are on the table: from a problem in the European electricity grid that has affected Spain and Portugal in particular due to their peninsular location, to a fire in southwestern France that may have damaged a high-voltage line between Perpignan and Narbonne. However, sources at the Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) have not ruled out a possible external cyberattack, although they say there are no clear indications at this stage.
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
