Panic buying empties supermarket shelves in Spain amid historic blackout

Spain and Portugal experienced major disruptions on Monday as one of Europe’s most severe blackouts in recent history brought daily life to a standstill. Millions were left stranded in trains and lifts, while internet and phone networks collapsed, forcing a return to cash transactions. In Spain, panic buying emptied supermarket shelves as residents rushed to stock up on groceries and essential supplies.

Visuals shared online show large crowds at Spanish supermarkets, with long queues of customers snaking through aisles as they scrambled to buy food and essentials. Water bottles proved to be the most popular item, with videos showing water shelves left bare.

One video shared on social media shows dozens of people in Madrid gathering outside the supermarkets that remained open during the power outage. The caption claims that people tried in vain to connect to Wi-Fi.

Another clip shows how shelves were left empty as Spanish customers snapped up canned food and water.

“Supermarkets are packed after the widespread blackout across Spain,” read one post on X, showing shoppers with their arms full of fruit, water bottles and packaged food items.

Power returns to Spain

Electricity had been restored to more than 90 percent of mainland Spain early Tuesday, the REE power operator said. Lights came on again in Madrid and in Portugal's capital, reported AFP.

Barely a corner of the Iberian peninsula, which has a joint population of almost 60 million people, escaped the blackout. But no firm cause for the shutdown has yet emerged, though wild rumours spread on messaging networks about cyber attacks.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the source of the outage was "probably in Spain". Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said "all the potential causes" were being analysed and warned the public "not to speculate" because of the risk of "misinformation".

(With inputs from AFP)