Mobile networks were down, and people in Madrid and Barcelona were observed on the streets holding smartphones up, trying to reconnect to a network.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A major power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday, including their capitals, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines. It is rare to have such a widespread outage there. Spanish generator Red Eléctrica said it affected the Iberian peninsula and the incident is being assessed.

The complete restoration of electricity in Spain and Portugal might take between six to ten hours following a widespread blackout that left millions