Today, parts of Spain, Portugal, and France experienced widespread power outages, knocking out electricity, internet, and mobile networks for hours.
One BBC article captured a personal account of how radio became a vital lifeline. SWLing Post contributor Balázs Kovács shared this note from the BBC Live Update:
Meanwhile, a friend of our family living in Barcelona reported that her Sony ICF-SW100 proved invaluable during the blackout.
While phone and internet services were unavailable, her SW100 kept her connected to critical news and updates.
In another update, our friend Carlos Latuff noted that Radio Exterior de España — Spain’s external broadcaster — was off the air on shortwave frequencies, likely due to the blackout.
Carlos shared this video from Porto Alegre at 20:26 UTC:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Closing Thoughts…
I’ll keep this simple: When the grid goes down and the internet disappears, local radio often endures.
Millions of us have experienced this first hand.