Page 6 | I was in blackout and parents haven’t even texted me

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 2025-04-29T22:05:53+00:00

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?

Monty27 · 30/04/2025 00:12

@Stopeatingcrispsanddips good you're ok then.

Nominative · 30/04/2025 00:13

CautiousLurker01 · 29/04/2025 23:31

Some of us were kids in the 70s. Evening by candle light during the strikes, queued all day for bread with babies in prams, no heating. Powercuts were pretty normal weekly occurrence during the strikes. And we survived.

It’s not like a raging forest fire, floods or war, is it? It’s a bloody power cut not the apolocalypse.

And no, it barely registered on the news here because there’s stuff like wars, Trump, 15yo girls being arrested for attempted stabbings, all of which are far more worrying than whether you could charge up whichever device you are using to post here.

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Not comparable. Those power cuts were on a rota to try to protect fuel for electricity and other production, so we knew when they would happen and how long they would go on for - IIRC, none were for more than three hours at a time. We could prepare by having candles and torches ready, preparing meals in advance etc. It's hardly the same as the whole country losing power with no warning and no idea how long it will go on for, and when it's off for as long as 12 hours - especially if you have no means of finding out what is going on.

GravyBoatWars · 30/04/2025 00:13

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 30/04/2025 00:08

I’m not in my 50’s

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Late 40s then, sorry. You said earlier you were a child of the 70s so I estimated.

The specific age doesn't matter, my point was that you're neither new at navigating the world yourself nor old enough to be highly vulnerable. Unless I knew there was some specific reason you would be at high risk I wouldn't have been worried about your safety given the picture we had from the outside.

Original poster

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 30/04/2025 00:13

crumblingschools · 30/04/2025 00:08

If we have the same thing happen here with most of the country out of action for no discernible reason and the possibility of it being a cyber attack I wonder how many posters will go, it’s only a power cut!

Can’t believe posters also saying it wasn’t on the news, maybe they are so unobservant they wouldn’t notice a power cut, because it was all over the news!

Exactly…! If this same situation were to happen in the uk, it would be huge

OP posts:

WinterMorn · 30/04/2025 00:14

TheLeadbetterLife · 30/04/2025 00:10

How is it thoughtless? Given the state of the world and Putin's shenanigans, a completely unexpected and unprecedented multi-country blackout and communications breakdown is exactly the sort of thing that might happen as part of an attack, cyber or otherwise.

Most people thought it was a cyber attack, for obvious reasons—there's never been anything else like it. My first thought—once I realised it wasn't just a normal power cut in my area—was that it was a Russian shot across the bows.

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Do I really have to explain to you why it’s overdramatic?

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:14

notadrift · 30/04/2025 00:00

Fucking hell.
School, intenet, shops, bank, water, electricity, news.

ALL OFF.
It was frightening. I thought it was a war!

It was not a "powercut"

But it was a powercut. Yes, electricity was off. That's what a powercut is?

GravyBoatWars · 30/04/2025 00:15

How much contact do you have with your parents and other family on a regular basis? Is this part of a pattern of them not reaching out in ways you do for them?

Ohthatsabitshit · 30/04/2025 00:15

I don’t think mine would have contacted me for a power cut.

Original poster

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 30/04/2025 00:16

*Your response

OP posts:

pizzaHeart · 30/04/2025 00:17

JoeySchoolOfActing · 29/04/2025 23:49

I cannot believe how many people can't show a bit of empathy and imagine how scary a complete power and information blackout would be.

I do not blame you at all for feeling hurt that your parents didn't contact you. I would absolutely try and contact my kids no matter their age in similar circumstances.

I hope you are ok, it sounds like an awful experience.

This^
I would absolutely contact a close family member if they were in Spain or Portugal.
I can understand why you feel upset and hurt. It’s like your parents don’t care how are you and what’s happening in your life. You expect them to care, even if you are an adult.

JoeySchoolOfActing · 30/04/2025 00:17

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:10

But what was so scary? I think some of us are missing this aspect altogether. I don't think any of us are generally not empathetic people, we've just often not had power, and not found it scary, so it's hard to understand why this would be scary.

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Maybe just generally really fucking stupid then.

It's been explained multiple times on the thread and across the news that it wasn't just a power cut, but a complete information and power blackout across two countries.

notadrift · 30/04/2025 00:17

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:14

But it was a powercut. Yes, electricity was off. That's what a powercut is?

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We did not know WHAT it was.

Dearover · 30/04/2025 00:17

Perhaps it would have registered if it disrupted Race Across the World. These are probably the same people who don't tell their families that they've had a baby for a month whilst they focus on their "nuclear family".

crumblingschools · 30/04/2025 00:18

@TreeStove how many power cuts have you had that have hit more than 3 countries all at the same time for no identifiable reason. Not just your local substation.

It’s not just the case of nipping to the next town to get food, money, phone signal. Nothing was working

notadrift · 30/04/2025 00:18

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:14

But it was a powercut. Yes, electricity was off. That's what a powercut is?

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Idiot

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:20

notadrift · 30/04/2025 00:09

Yes, DD (16) was terrified.

Nobody could contact anyone.

It was a worse feeling than Covid tbh. People were trapped in lifts. Nobody could ring buzzers.
My friend in the UK sent me a message which I got at 4 am. I denuinely thought it was war!

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I get that being stuck in a lift would be scary, but not being able to ring buzzers?! What am I missing? Why would that be scary?

Gustavo77 · 30/04/2025 00:21

It was a power cut, my husband and kids are there just now, I didn't even think to ask them specifically about it. It was no big deal apparently

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:21

Stopeatingcrispsanddips · 30/04/2025 00:11

I would have expected them to do as you did x

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What support would you have liked? A text saying "hope the electricity comes back on soon!"?

CousinBob · 30/04/2025 00:23

If you were a child in the 70’s as you say, your parents must be quite elderly. Sorry you haven’t felt supported.

Nominative · 30/04/2025 00:23

Naepalz · 30/04/2025 00:01

Had a nearly 6 day long one in Kintyre after storm Éowyn in January. It was bloody freezing in the house but hey ho, we Scots just get on with it 😂

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Again, not really comparable. That had an identifiable cause and the storm was certainly predicted; people in your area are fairly used to this and therefore, unless they are stupid, prepare themselves in the winter with extra food supplies, alternative means of heating, candles, torches, battery powered radios etc. Generally the police and others make an effort to check on the vulnerable and help to get at least basic supplies through. Because of the nature of the area where it hit, you are not going to get people stuck on underground trains, in lifts etc, and the council can concentrate on getting the most important routes open quickly.

AtomHeartMotherOfGod · 30/04/2025 00:23

While I accept all the comments from stoics on here, I will simply say that me and my best friend are both 70s babies, she lives in an affected area and I sent her a WhatsApp to check in with her.

I would not consider myself a very thoughtful person, so given it's parents, and they watch the news, YANBU.

crumblingschools · 30/04/2025 00:24

@TreeStove as soon as there is a power cut in our town messages appear on local Facebook page asking what streets are impacted and then someone will post what the situation is and estimated time of power being returned. Usually down to a cable being damaged. So a few moans but people know what is going on.

If there has been a massive storm people expect a power cut.

This happened with no warning and no means of explaining to country population what was going on. Most people would automatically think cyber attacks, and on that scale that is a scary thought

SpookyMcTaggart · 30/04/2025 00:24

TreeStove · 30/04/2025 00:14

But it was a powercut. Yes, electricity was off. That's what a powercut is?

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So according to you a tsunami would be "just a wave", and a major explosion "just a bang"..??

Espressosummer · 30/04/2025 00:25

TheLeadbetterLife · 30/04/2025 00:10

How is it thoughtless? Given the state of the world and Putin's shenanigans, a completely unexpected and unprecedented multi-country blackout and communications breakdown is exactly the sort of thing that might happen as part of an attack, cyber or otherwise.

Most people thought it was a cyber attack, for obvious reasons—there's never been anything else like it. My first thought—once I realised it wasn't just a normal power cut in my area—was that it was a Russian shot across the bows.

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But there has been lots like it. According to the BBC, its around once a year on average across the world. Perhaps if people paid more attention to the world around them then they wouldn't get caught up in needless panicking.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c209yrl3258o

A woman covered in a red blanket rests with her eyes closed on the shoulder of an elderly lady in a black coat. Both are sitting on a white bench with crowds of others in the background.

Spain rules out cyber attack - but what could have caused power cut?

The Spanish grid operator said the preliminary assessment suggests there was no cyber attack.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c209yrl3258o

ReadingSoManyThreads · 30/04/2025 00:25

There were many people without power for up to 10 days in January following the storm in NI. Roofs severely damaged. Windows smashed. All in the middle of a Northern Irish winter. My elderly parents home was damaged. No drama from them, they've survived many a harsh storm, even though their home has been damaged multiple times. Growing up I remember many a power cut.

12 hours? Get a hold of yourself woman.