Entire Countries Lose Electrical Power?!

Spain, Portugal and parts of France just had a 'War Of The Worlds' experience this past week. They lost power! Not just for a few minutes and not just one or two communities... but all the major cities! Everything just stopped working - trains, elevators, ATMs, traffic lights, airport terminals. It all just stopped, and it lasted nearly a day.

"Power has been restored to tens of millions of people across almost all of Spain and Portugal, but disruptions to transport services were expected to stretch into a second day as questions mount over what caused a massive blackout.

Both countries remain under states of emergency after electrical supply was lost across the entire Iberian Peninsula, and in part of France, on Monday. The outage brought businesses to a standstill, halted elevators, knocked out traffic lights, and caused chaos on roads and in airports." CNN News

I found little coverage here in the States about this incredible occurrence. A brief headline was all I caught, calling it a 'rare atmospheric phenomenon'?? What?

Sky News is following updates.

An estimated 35,000 were stuck on trains, some in the middle of nowhere, food and water ran out, and people just got out and sat on the ground waiting to be rescued. Restaurants and stores emptied of food and drinks fast, and in some cases, they just gave it away, as cash-only customers were few.

Citizens were asked to conserve cell phone use, and emergency generators ran the hospitals and critical infrastructure, including nuclear power plants.

Some of the comments and events were funny. The barbers kept clipping hair with manual scissors, and one casually said it reminded him of 50 years ago as a boy, before all the "conveniences". People at dance studios kept learning the Flamenco as long as daylight remained. One Portuguese said we don't freak out right away like the Belgians! I love the sense of humor amidst total chaos. But just the elevator thought alone freaks me out, and I'm not even stuck in one!

They still don't know the cause and said it may take weeks. People thought it might be an international incident (not being ruled out) or power grid issues, but they don't know. Wow!

"Red Electrica said it had identified two incidents of power generation loss, probably from solar plants, in southwestern Spain that caused instability in the electric system and led to a breakdown of its interconnection with France. The electrical system collapsed, affecting both the Spanish and Portuguese systems." Reuters

They are looking at the possible failure of solar panels... paging Greta Thunberg... didn't we just celebrate Earth Day?

I am also amazed at the civility. No news about riots, busted glass storefronts, or the hauling off of TVs, computers, jewelry and overpriced designer handbags, like we've seen somewhere else during a crisis!

It really makes you wonder - do you really have enough cash on hand, a topped-off gas tank (forget the electric cars at a time like this), extra water, medicine, cat food (!), a way to get home, or communicate? I hope this story is a wake-up call for all of us to be prepared, even on the way to your Flamingo lesson!