Madrid: Panicked customers scrambled to withdraw cash As a nationwide power outage swept across Spain on Monday, banks and streets became inundated with people desperately seeking a signal, leading to widespread confusion.
Carlos Condori, a 19-year-old worker in the construction industry, was on the Madrid metro when the blackout abruptly halted his journey.
"The lights went out and the train came to a stop," he recounted to AFP outside a central Madrid metro station. "Fortunately, it managed to inch its way to the platform. People were in disbelief; this has never happened in Spain before. I can't reach my family or even get to work."
In Cibeles Square, one of Madrid's busiest areas, the failure of traffic lights resulted in a chaotic symphony of sirens, whistles, and honking as police attempted to manage the traffic jam.
Office workers stood bewildered in the streets, their computers rendered useless without internet access, while residents expressed relief at not being trapped in elevators.
Marina Sierra, a disoriented 16-year-old student, was trying to reach her father and find a way home after her school was closed.
"The building we were in started emitting smoke, and we had to evacuate quickly... I'm in shock because everything feels completely out of control," she said.
'Not the end of the world'
Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city, also faced transport chaos as locals and tourists flooded the streets, seeking answers about the blackout.
Laia Montserrat, a student living an hour outside Barcelona, was in the middle of a presentation when the power went out at her school, leaving her in a difficult situation.
"Since the internet wasn't coming back, they told us to go home... but there were no trains either," Laia explained to AFP. "Now we’re at a loss for what to do."
Leonor Abecasis, a tourist from Portugal, was in a shop when darkness enveloped her surroundings.
"We're just waiting for the electricity to return," said the 27-year-old consultant, admitting she felt "a little" anxious about her flight back to Lisbon later that day.
In Madrid, Pilar Lopez took a more philosophical view of the chaos, trying to calm her colleagues who were worried about the food in their freezers.
"We've been through a pandemic; I don't think this is worse," said the 53-year-old higher education administrator.
"It's like anything else; you adapt and realize this isn't the end of the world."
For Lopez, the widespread disorder served as a valuable lesson: "Perhaps we should reconsider our reliance on electricity for certain things."
She added, "I can't even make payments because my phone isn't working. Sometimes, we need to embrace a more analogue approach: this situation proves that."