Europe goes offline? Spanish influencer dubs massive blackout ‘Digital Detox Apocalypse’
"Amid the absurdity, something beautiful happened. Friends gathered to cook together and people simply sat outside, enjoying each other's company in the strange stillness," she said.
SHAH ALAM - Much of Southern Europe experienced what could only be described as a temporary collapse of modern life on April 28.
What began as an ordinary Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, quickly transformed into what Spanish content creator Darry Kosha called the "Great Digital Detox Apocalypse."
A massive 10-hour blackout swept across Southern Europe, cutting off electricity, internet and mobile networks, halting daily life in its tracks. Despite the chaos, she described the experience as both apocalyptic and strangely beautiful.
"It felt like a test run for the apocalypse across much of Europe, with a complete breakdown of electricity and mobile networks. I live in Barcelona and what began as a normal day quickly turned into something surreal.
"At noon, we noticed the power was out. Not long after, the internet and mobile networks also went down, which struck us as odd. Since we needed to work, we assumed it was just a localised issue and headed towards the city centre.
"But once there, it became clear that this was no minor disruption. The metro was not running, buses were packed and there was no electricity anywhere.
"Still, true to form, the Spanish spirit endured and people continued to enjoy cold beers outdoors," she said in a video posted on her Instagram account.
A brief window of mobile service revealed the widespread impact of the outage, which extended across Southern Europe. What unfolded over just 10 hours, she said, felt like a small-scale reboot of human civilisation.
"We joked about eating our cat and stealing coins from my partner’s kids because card payments were useless with no network.
"Yet amid the absurdity, something beautiful happened. Friends gathered to cook together and people simply sat outside, enjoying each other's company in the strange stillness.
"As night approached, a subtle panic began to creep in. Only a few shops remained open and they accepted cash only. Long queues formed, just in case this really was the end of the world," she added.
Then, Kosha and her friends decided to leave the city behind for the mountains. They found others doing the same thing as well; disconnecting from devices and reconnecting with nature.
When she returned back to the city, she said the streets transformed and people played music, sipped wine, read books and lingered together like a rediscovered community.
"The highlight of our chaotic day came when we stumbled upon the only working coffee shop in the area and savored our first coffee of the day. When electricity finally returned to parts of the city, people erupted in joy, as though they had been in the dark for weeks.
"We headed back to our dark ‘caves’, lit some candles, ate canned food and called it a night. Honestly, if this had been the real apocalypse, I think I would be glad to spend my final hours in Barcelona, Spain," she said.
On April 28, a massive power outage swept across Spain and Portugal, disrupting the daily life for tens of millions and raising concerns over the stability of the region’s electricity grid. The blackout began shortly after 12.30pm and lasted into the night, affecting businesses, hospitals, public transport and communication networks.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed that the country lost 15 gigawatts of power, or about 60 per cent of national demand, following two major disconnection events.
The second of these, according to Spain's grid operator Red Electrica de Espana, caused a widespread failure after triggering a shutdown of the interconnection with France, part of Europe's highly linked power system.
Experts reported early warning signs of grid instability, such as increasing voltage fluctuations detected hours before the collapse. However, the exact cause of the failure remained unclear as of the following day.
While authorities ruled out cyberattacks, investigations were still ongoing to determine whether grid imbalances, equipment failures or maintenance-related disconnections played a role.
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