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Original poster

I was in blackout and parents haven’t even texted me

1000 replies

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 29/04/2025 23:05

I live in one of the countries where there was a power cut, it was frightening at the time and still feels a bit unsettling. My parents haven’t even WhatsApped us to see how we are (they still live in the U.K.)

Is this normal?

OP posts:
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10
CandidLurker · 30/04/2025 18:18

It was a stark lesson for me in that urban populations are just not prepared and soon would struggle with no access to anything.

EdithBond · 30/04/2025 18:19

BitOutOfPractice · 30/04/2025 17:58

Not a relative doddle if you’ve got half a million people on public transport in Madrid. Or if emergency services had no comms and looting breaks out. Or you live on the 15th floor with no lifts, no water, no power. Or if the government’s or bank’s security systems were breached. Or air traffic control went down and there’s planes in the sky. Or if nobody can buy anything, or refuel their cars or work vehicles because they have no cash and all The shops are closed anyway. Or any one of the potentially life threatening scenarios I can imagine and surely you can too.

Obviously having no power for 6 days must’ve been horrendous for you. But imagine that replicated across two countries with no discernible cause and I think you’ll realise your analogy was rather flawed.

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Plus, you’ve no idea why it’s happened, if it’s deliberate or how long it might take to fix. I imagine rumours abound, spreading more panic.

housethatbuiltme · 30/04/2025 18:24

crumblingschools · 30/04/2025 15:22

@housethatbuiltme so nothing out of the ordinary that 50 million people lost power for no reason

Nothing out of the ordinary for a power cut... power cuts happen all the time, everyday, all over the world sometimes for next to nothing (down line, glitch in the system, person supply issues) and sometime for serious reasons (earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides/floods etc...).

It effecting 50 million people doesn't change one persons experience or ability to cope. It effects the stress on workers getting it up and running, governments, hospitals etc... but 49 million other people also having no power make zero difference to OPs experience of not having power. It would be the same if it where just her village or just her town or just her city, nothing changes via scale to the individual.

EdithBond · 30/04/2025 18:33

crumblingschools · 30/04/2025 15:30

@Lifestooshort71 when we have a localised power cut, normally due to storm, someone dig up a cable. Information shared local FB telling us what, why and estimated time for power to return.
We’ve been lucky and never had one go in more than a few hours, so wouldn’t make the news. Know that we could pop to another town to get supplies, get internet connection, still be able to communicate with people and find out what is happening.

Compare that to situation with power going off and getting a message that the whole country (plus neighbouring countries) have lost power, no public transport, shops shut, no banking facilities available, chaos on the roads, if you are unlucky your water supply stops as well, not knowing why or when everything will return to normal. And then news blackout. I think that is very different to local power cut

Beautifully put. It’s a whole country shut down. And neighbouring countries.

If your kids were at school and you and DP out at work, how do you even contact each other or get home?

Imagine the whole of London suddenly ‘switching off’ (tubes, buses). And no one can contact anyone. Anywhere in the country.

strivingtosucceed · 30/04/2025 18:54

Naepalz · 29/04/2025 23:54

I had an almost 6 day power cut after storm Éowyn in January. I live alone and am in an electrically heated house in a remote area and the temperature in my living room was was 8C centigrade for the whole 6 days. However, I didn't expect my family to be constantly checking on me! Why would you be miffed about this - what exactly would have happened to you? They might not even know about it. Think you need to lighten up!

Edited
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Very off-topic, but how did you manage it being in an all electric? I live in one too & sometimes worry what we would do if our power went out.

whirlyhead · 30/04/2025 19:12

I live in Spain too and no members of my family checked in with me and still haven’t. I hadn’t even considered they hadn’t done this until now either!! Can’t say I’m bothered.

MasterBeth · 30/04/2025 19:24

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 29/04/2025 23:32

Exactly, thank you. It wasn’t just simply oh no tv for a bit, it was actually v worrying. Petrol stations closed immediately, shops, restaurants. We had no access to internet, all lines went down, car radios didn’t work etc

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What do you mean, "car radios didn't work"? You don't plug your car radio into the mains, do you?

BitOutOfPractice · 30/04/2025 19:33

MasterBeth · 30/04/2025 19:24

What do you mean, "car radios didn't work"? You don't plug your car radio into the mains, do you?

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I presume radio stations and tv Stations also went down so no radio to listen to.

YourAmplePlumPoster · 30/04/2025 19:46

Anyone thought the near total dependency on renewables in Spain and Portugal might be to blame? Certainly the line some of the media in Spain are taking.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b652bc04e5e58814

Lindererer32 · 30/04/2025 19:50

TurnThatLightOn · 29/04/2025 23:11

Passed me by too and I keep abreast of the news. Can't explain why

Same. I have not seen any coverage. UK.

OrangeBlossomsinthesun · 30/04/2025 19:52

BitOutOfPractice · 30/04/2025 19:33

I presume radio stations and tv Stations also went down so no radio to listen to.

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Some radio stations worked, others didn't. I usually listen to rock fm and Europa fm. Europa was working, Rock wasn't. People were listening to on transistor radios if they had them. I don't know if some stations had generators.

Starlight7080 · 30/04/2025 19:53

How long since you visited them? Maybe given how depressing the world is now they actually don't watch the news much now

CandidLurker · 30/04/2025 20:39

We had a couple of Spanish people tell us that it had spread through to North Africa and the Netherlands. My husband does have a bit of knowledge of the power industry and he said spread to the Netherlands was unlikely. We didn’t know for definite it was just Spain, Portugal and some parts of the southern France until we got power again and could put the tv on.

what you don’t think of is that you may have power for some time on your mobile phone but the mobile networks are down so you can’t make calls anyway. At that point it’s just a largely redundant box although a torch is useful.

JLou08 · 30/04/2025 20:44

This thread is the first I heard of a blackout. I wouldn't really be worried about someone during a 12 hour blackout unless they were vulnerable.

NewShoesForSpring · 30/04/2025 20:54

JLou08 · 30/04/2025 20:44

This thread is the first I heard of a blackout. I wouldn't really be worried about someone during a 12 hour blackout unless they were vulnerable.

I cannot believe we're 33 pages in & we still have people minimising this....!

Have you read the whole thread @JLou08 ?

MereNoelle · 30/04/2025 20:56

Genuinely shocked at those saying it’s the first they’ve heard of it. It was headline news throughout most of Monday and Tuesday in the U.K.

Couldnotthinkofausername · 30/04/2025 21:18

It was well reported in the UK and was much more than a simple power cut. Are people being deliberately obtuse or can they seriously not use their imaginations to see how frightening this must of been. If this happened in the UK there would be mass panic, rioting and looting. Think about it! No internet, tv, radio or phones so no information, just people stuck in buildings, lifts , trains, underground stations, schools etc. Can't use bank cards, can't get cash, traffic lights not working and no one ( yes it's TWO words) knows what's happening. It wouldn't take much for panic to set in.

Dearover · 30/04/2025 21:33

These are probably the same people who self destruct if they accidentally leave their mobile phone at home

m00rfarm · 30/04/2025 21:59

lowlight · 30/04/2025 10:16

Get a grip - it was a power cut. Proper nuisance I am sure but no need to keep thinking about it. Move on and get prepped for the next one.

Get a grip? What an utterly pathetic comment. If it had just been a power cut then why would it have made worldwide news? I shall add you to the list.

m00rfarm · 30/04/2025 22:03

treesandsun · 30/04/2025 13:57

Depending on the age of your parents they have probably lived through power cuts in this country - it is not a threat to life and limb - I would probably text my child and he would probably reply - yeah fine it was only a power cut not an earthquake. You do seem to be reacting quite dramatically for something quite minor.

It wasn't a "power cut". It was a full on power outage that covered two whole countries and no one knew why. Power cuts in the UK are nothing. I have been through those. Made little difference to me. This was completely different and there was no one saying what had happened and why. We had no idea whether it was a one hour issue or a one week issue.

Malagase · 30/04/2025 22:07

My friend watched her desperate neighbours move their mother on oxygen downstairs, as they scrambled to get her to hospital.
Pathetic?
Utterly disgusting posts.
MN is increasingly a toxic space.

lizzyBennet08 · 30/04/2025 22:26

I suppose it was an extended power cut? Maybe if felt scarier than it sounded .

MereNoelle · 30/04/2025 22:30

lizzyBennet08 · 30/04/2025 22:26

I suppose it was an extended power cut? Maybe if felt scarier than it sounded .

🙄

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