Portugal in chaos as shops have 'queues like Alton Towers' after power cut

British tourists in Portugal and Spain have been left shocked over supermarket "queues like Alton Towers" as panic buying ensued after a crippling power outage.

Electricity is gradually being restored in both nations after extensive blackouts that started yesterday (April 28). The outages wreaked havoc on travel, banking, and telecommunications across the countries, with specialists still scratching their heads over the cause.

Although officials have dismissed any malicious intent, including a cyberattack, the ordeal has been no less exasperating for Brits eager to bask in the holiday sun. In the Algarve, Nicola Boswell expressed her dismay on TikTok during a 5pm visit to an store, where she found the shelves nearly empty amidst the turmoil.

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"This is the situation in Aldi - there's queues bigger than Alton Towers in peak season," she exclaimed, showing her followers the long lines of customers. "There's nothing left to buy. Everything has completely sold out."

While there were some remnants of fresh produce, the store was largely picked clean. Nicola added: "This is unbelievable. The toilet roll is pretty, that's always the first to go. Look at the queues - they are right the way up the aisles."

She also noted: "Forget Aldi for water - there's none left, it's completely sold out."

Despite the availability of alcohol, cleaning supplies, and baking goods, the selection was scarce for those looking to stock up.

Meanwhile, in Spain, another Briton confessed he had "never seen queues like it", sharing footage from his location in Benidorm. Nigel Pope labelled the situation a "disaster in the making", revealing that shops were only allowing a few customers in at a time to prevent panic.

"Everybody is buying water and supplies because the electricity could be out be out for days," he said. "It's a real disaster, we don't really know what is going on. I would normally use the lift but I've had to walk up and down the stairs to get my supplies. It's becoming a bit of a disaster zone."

Reacting to Nicola's video from Portugal, some criticised the behaviour of shoppers. "Did people not learn anything after the pandemic?", one person asked.

Another vented: "Animals just take what they really need, we humans just take it all."

A third wondered: "Don't people have food at home? When Covid hit, I didn't leave the house for 15 days, now I am much better prepared, I could last at least a month without going out, everyone needs survival kits."

Meanwhile, reacting to Nigel's surroundings in Spain, one TikTok user admitted: "To be fair they were warned! Always good to be prepared."

Another noted: "It must be a nightmare." Whilst a third added in fear: "I'm due to fly out there on Wednesday, I don't know what is happening."

Spain's State Meteorological Agency have dismissed the possibility of "unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena" as the cause of the blackout, contradicting earlier claims made by Portuguese authorities.

In a statement on X, they stated: "During the day of April 28, no unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena were detected in Spain, nor were there any sudden temperature changes in our network of weather stations."

In contrast, Portuguese energy officials attributed the widespread power outages to "anomalous oscillations" in very high-voltage lines, a phenomenon known as "induced atmospheric variation". They warned that it may take up to a week for the network to fully recover.

REN (Rede Eletrica Nacional), Portugal's grid operator, has pointed to a "fault in the Spanish electricity grid" as the cause of the disruptions to its own power supply.