This is the moment when the light goes out. In a post-match interview, after she won directly to reach the final eight games of the Madrid Open, American tennis star Coco Gauff was joking about her avocado toast breakfast and a bad night sleep when suddenly the microphone cuts off. She looked surprised and turned black behind her leadership advertising board.
Just after noon, the momentum across the Iberian Peninsula failed and Spain and Portugal fell into chaos. The bus and train stopped; the cash machine turned black. People are trapped in no subway carriages and lifts and cannot determine when to go out.
Madrid residents squeezed into the outdoor terrace and gathered around the radio to try to figure out what was going on. The cars are trapped in long queues because there are no lights to guide traffic. The sirens kept ringing loudly as police cars and ambulances tried to cross the crowded streets.
An officer told The Guardian that when the electricity went out, the Madrid Metro reached a dead station and people had to evacuate it. Carlos Condori, a 19-year-old construction worker, traveled on the subway, but his train managed to climb onto the platform. “People were stunned because this has never happened in Spain,” he told AFP. “No [phone] Coverage, I can’t call my family, my parents, nothing: I can’t even go to work. ”
In the Spanish capital, neighbors pour out from home, interact with workers in offices and shops, deal stories. Most people think it is a local cut that can be recovered quickly. They were wrong.
The Spanish and Portuguese governments scramble to hold crisis meetings. The Spanish parliament was closed and the match was suspended at the Madrid Open. Clothing company Zara closed its flagship store in Madrid, although other stores allow customers to browse items in the dark.
This day has usually begun. Antonio Loreto, a doctoral student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told The Guardian that although he and his colleagues soon realized the problem was much bigger, the electricity in his lab had disappeared in the lab. “When people noticed the whole university, everyone was nervous. Then some people said it was the whole person in Catalonia, and then Spain. We realized that no one was received by phones. People started panic. Some people said it might be the beginning of World War III, without the internet or cell phones, people started to be a little paranoid.”
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Uncertainty, misunderstandings and rumors about the cause of unprecedented power outages are flying around. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was mistakenly described as an attack on the European energy grid. She had never said such a thing.
Hours later, Von der Leyen tweeted that she was in contact with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, reaffirming a previous statement that EU authorities were “monitoring the situation” with national authorities and the EU’s electricity coordination group. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen reported at 2.28pm that “power has returned to certain regions”.
But chaos still ruled much of the Iberian Peninsula.
Thousands of people are trapped on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed railway line. According to a report by El País, a train to Barcelona stopped at 12.50 pm. Within a few minutes, the lights went off and the air conditioner stopped. Passengers are unable to even access the train toilet connected to the power system and have to use some bush on the track. “Relax both, relax both, come back immediately after relaxing.” The crew tried to provide information, but admitted they didn’t really know what was going on.
Related: Tell us: Are you affected by power outages in Spain and Portugal?
Jason Ence, the guardian’s reader, reported in the afternoon: “We were stuck on the Renfe train in Seville, about 30-40 miles southwest of Madrid near Toledo.
Local media reported that hospitals in Barcelona, Galicia and Portugal have turned to backup generators. The prescription was again handwritten; X-ray and medical test results cannot be viewed. Meanwhile, hundreds of petrol stations were shut down in Spain and Portugal because the pump was unavailable and the card system failed.
Spain’s airports turned to generators and some flights were postponed, but Lisbon travelers left news about the flight.
Spanish media reported from Barcelona that radios, batteries, candles and torches “fly out of shelves” at the market in Calle del Mar. Since ATMS doesn’t work, people rush to buy cash to buy lunch. Diners at some restaurants eat under candlelight.
Back in Madrid, Pilar Lopez, 53, advises chaos to provide a useful course. “I can’t even pay because my phone doesn’t work. Sometimes you have to be more simulated: This proves that,” she told AFP.
“We’ve suffered from a pandemic and I don’t think it’s worse,” she added.
