Major Power Outage Disrupts Spain, Portugal, Tests Resilience

A massive power outage on April 28 crippled Spain and Portugal, affecting approximately 60 million people and causing severe disruptions to daily life, telecommunications, healthcare, and transportation. Mobile network performance sharply declined as battery backups failed, leading to a dramatic drop in mobile connectivity and internet access, while critical infrastructure such as hospitals relied on generators to provide only urgent care. Businesses closed, public transportation halted, and airports experienced significant delays, with Lisbon, Barcelona, and Madrid among the worst affected. Health workers faced challenges in maintaining vaccine cold chains and resorted to manual methods for patient care. Authorities in both countries cited unusual fluctuations in the European power grid and possible extreme weather as contributing factors, though the exact cause remains under investigation. The blackout prompted other nations, including the UK, to review their own infrastructure resilience strategies in light of the incident.