Following a widespread power outage, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday declared a state of emergency in the regions of Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura.
A state of emergency is declared at the request of regional governments. The move allows the central government to coordinate a response, including mobilizing the army.
Sanchez added that Spain would declare a state of emergency in any other region that requests it, which was later followed by Murcia in the southeast of the country, according to Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
“We don’t know the causes. We are not ruling out any hypothesis,” Sanchez added in an address to the nation.
Power went out across Spain and Portugal around noon and is gradually being restored. Many areas in Spain have been without power for almost nine hours.
While Sanchez says the security situation is satisfactory, much of Spain’s transport system has been brought to a standstill. Metros and trains have been suspended, while major cities have seen traffic jams after traffic lights failed.
Thousands of people also had to be rescued from elevators, with around 150 such incidents reported in Madrid alone, according to the capital’s mayor.
So far, Spanish media have reported some traffic accidents, but no major robberies or attacks on critical infrastructure such as hospitals, which handle emergencies.
Sanchez urged citizens to remain calm, save their phone batteries and avoid speculating or spreading misinformation about the causes of the blackout.
Train stations are staying open overnight to accommodate stranded passengers.
According to the Spanish daily El Pais, this is the worst blackout in Spanish history.
The blackout has also caused major disruption in Portugal, whose prime minister said the problem stems from a problem in the Spanish system, AA writes.
A rare weather phenomenon in Spain, caused by extreme temperature variations, has caused power outages across the Iberian Peninsula, Portuguese energy company REN said on Monday.
Large parts of Spain and Portugal were hit by a major power outage on Monday, causing major disruptions at airports, train stations and metro systems, causing traffic lights to fail and disrupting communication networks.
REN (Rede Eletrica Nacional) said it was impossible to predict when power would be restored and that it could take up to a week.
It said extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain had caused anomalous oscillations in very high voltage (400 kV) lines, a phenomenon known as “induced atmospheric vibrations”.
“These oscillations caused synchronization errors between electrical systems, which led to successive disruptions in the interconnected European grid.”
Spain has not yet responded to the claims.
The European Council said there was no indication that the power outage was caused by a cyberattack.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said there was “no indication” that a cyberattack was behind the power outages in Portugal and Spain.
Photo: Platform X
