A British holidaymaker in Spain has captured the carnage unfolding in Benidorm during a “crazy” international power outage.
Brit Dean Griffin said he was “taking his life into his own hands” every time he crossed the road, as traffic lights weren’t working, and pedestrians were relying on drivers’ good will to stop at crossings. His video also showed numerous fire engines and police cars rushing past the main Benidorm high street. Dean said the scenes were “crazy”, and that he’d never seen anything like it.
“So we’re in Benidorm right now, and I’m not sure if you’ve seen the news but there’s a major power outage,” he said on his Travelling Veteran vlog. “This supermarket, which is down in front of Levante Beach… they’ve had to close up. There’s no power – this is going to affect some business isn’t it?!
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“Traffic lights are out… phone lines are down… Wow. All the shops are not getting power. I need some food – I haven’t eaten yet – but you can’t get food either.
“It’s all lights out in Spain. Everything’s out. Obviously they can only take cash and if you don’t have a lot of cash on you then you ain’t gonna get a lot. I’ve never known anything like this.”
Dean’s video then skipped to a busy main road in central Benidorm, and two loud fire engines careened past with police cars following. He then tried to cross the road, and thanked a driver who allowed a group of pedestrians to reach the other side of the road. Do you think the UK is prepared for a major power outage? Take our poll below. If you can’t see it, click here
“It’s all going off in Benidorm,” he said. He then pointed toward a half-hearted hand signal from someone directing traffic. “What does that mean? It’s crazy.
“It’s hard to cross the road, even. Look, the cars are just… You’re taking your life into your own hands.”
The huge international blackout brought most of Spain and Portugal to a complete standstill today, with major cities across western Europe hit by power cuts.
All of the Iberian Peninsula’s biggest cities were affected by the power outage, including in both capital cities; Madrid and Lisbon, respectively. Barcelona, Porto, Seville, and even Valencia on the east coast, were all suddenly thrust into the blackout this morning.
Spanish power distributor Red Electrica said that restoring power fully to the country, and neighbouring Portugal could take six to 10 hours. By mid-afternoon, voltage was progressively being restored in the north, south and west of the peninsula, the company said.
It’s still not entirely clear what caused the power outage, but some authorities have blamed a “rare atmospheric phenomemon”.
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