After an unprecedented power outage, the power begins to return to the Iberian Peninsula

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said overnight that “everything is likely to be done” to restore power across the country after an unprecedented regional power outage left the entire Iberian Peninsula full of the powerless Iberian Peninsula.

Sánchez said the idea was to restore electricity to the entire Spain on Tuesday, adding that 50% of the national electricity supply had been restored in the past few hours.

The power outage – blamed by the Portuguese operators on extreme temperature changes – leaves both countries without trains, cities, traffic lights, ATMs, telephone connections and internet access.

People were trapped in elevators, stuck on trains, stagnant, traffic was stagnant and abandoned at the airport. Hundreds of people stumbled on their phones along the dark subway tunnel. Others compete for basic knowledge in supermarkets, which can only be obtained by cash, or start going home from get off work for a long time.

Mobile networks fell and internet access was cut as power failed at 12.33 pm (BST 11.33). The hospital postponed routines but used generators to handle key cases, and while electronic banking was able to run on backup systems, most ATM screens were blank.

Related: Power outages in Spain and Portugal: What causes it, and is there a cyber attack?

In a scenario reminiscent of the 2003 power outage, widespread power outages in the northeastern United States, rail services on the Iberian Peninsula were stopped, air traffic was interrupted, and traffic lights were turned off. Hundreds of people had to be rescued from the clogged lift.

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martinez-Almeida urged people to minimize their journey and stay where they were, adding: “It is crucial that emergency services must be spread.” The match was suspended in the Madrid Open tennis match.

Sanchez said it was too early to know the reasons for the cuts, but it was not ruled out.

“How long does it take to return to normal [the national grid operator] He said: “Red Elktrika still can’t say with certainty.

By 10 pm local time on Monday, 62% of Spain’s substations returned online (421 out of 680), which had met 43.3% of the electricity demand. Red Eléctrica had previously warned that it could take six to 10 hours to fully restore supply after the so-called “excellent and totally extraordinary” incident.

Along a major passageway to Madrid’s Argüelles community, the restoration of power prompted cheers and filled with warm applause among many who were wandering the streets.

Sanchez said the cuts originated at 12.33 p.m., when, in five seconds, the 15 gigawatts of the energy produced suddenly disappeared.

“It’s something that has never happened before,” he added. “What prompted the supply to disappear suddenly is something that experts still cannot determine. But they will… all potential causes are being analyzed and no assumptions or possibilities are being ruled out.”

Portuguese operator Ren said the power outage was caused by a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” and that temperatures in Spain vary greatly, resulting in “abnormal oscillation” of very high voltage lines.

Ren said the phenomenon, known as “induced atmospheric vibration”, caused “synchronous failure between electrical systems, resulting in continuous interference of interconnected European networks”.

In Europe, widespread disruption is unusual. In 2003, a hydroelectric power line problem between Italy and Switzerland caused power outages for about 12 hours, and in 2006, an overloaded power network in Germany caused power cuts across the country as well as in France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Austria, Belgium, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Sanchez thanked France and Morocco for sending additional electricity to Spain and said the current shortage would be alleviated using natural gas and hydropower.

The Prime Minister said more national police and Guardia civil officials were deployed nationwide to ensure people are safe overnight, adding that the hospital is working well due to the efforts of health care workers.

He said telecommunications services are still being interrupted, mainly due to lack of power in the tentacles.

Sanchez said only 344 of the 6,000 flights in Spain were cancelled on Monday, and the country’s road network was working well without some tails.

The major travel disruptions occurred on the railway network, with 35,000 passengers trapped on more than 100 trains, which was helped by railway companies and military emergency departments. Eleven trains that stopped in remote areas are still waiting to arrive.

In Madrid and other cities, traffic lights stop running, causing a deadlock as vehicles slow down to avoid collisions, while the metropolis stops. The Spanish National Roads Authority DGT urges motorists to avoid using as many roads as possible.

El País newspapers have posted photos and videos on its website, where passengers drive dark subway tunnels in the Spanish capital and direct traffic on the streets of the city. The video also shows his reporter working through Torchlight.

The Spanish Ministry of Health said in a social media update that it contacted regional authorities to assess the scope of widespread power outages, but assured the public that the hospital has a complementary system.

In Portugal, power outages hit the capital, Lisbon and surrounding areas, as well as the north and south of the country. Lisbon Metro carriages were evacuated and the ATM and electronic payment systems were cut off.

Portuguese water supplier Epal said water supply could be disrupted when people are rushing to buy bottled water and other emergency supplies, such as gas lamps, generators and battery-powered radios, prompting queues to form in stores.

Sánchez aided eight of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions – Andalucía, Castilla -la Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia and Valencia – to declare a Level 3 emergency, taking responsibility for the response at the hands of the central government. Schools in those areas will be open Tuesday, but will not offer regular classes, he said.

He said the situation across the country remained very “asymmetric” on Monday night, with some areas already recovering 90% of their electricity while others recovering less than 15%.

Sanchez also advises non-essential workers to stay home on Tuesdays if necessary.

“It will be a long night,” he said. “But we will continue to work hard and get back to normal as soon as possible.”