Family emergency communication plan for a blackout
What we learned from the blackout of 28 April 2025 in Spain and Portugal: how to organise your family in ten minutes so you are never cut off.
On 28 April 2025, a blackout left almost all of Spain and Portugal without power for hours. Mobile phone masts held out for a while on batteries, and then many of them went down. A lot of people spent the afternoon not knowing anything about their loved ones.
A simple plan, agreed in advance, takes away most of that worry. It takes ten minutes.
1. A meeting point
Agree on a fixed place to meet if there’s no way to get in touch: your grandparents’ house, the town square, the school. And a backup, in case the first one can’t be reached.
2. A time to check in
If there’s some patchy coverage, short text messages (SMS) usually get through better than calls. Agree on a fixed time, for example on the hour, every hour, to try to send “I’m OK”.
3. Phone numbers on paper
Do you know your partner’s or your parents’ mobile number by heart? Hardly anyone does. Write the important ones down on paper, in your wallet and by the front door.
4. The basics at home
Since 2025, the European Commission has recommended that every household be able to cope on its own for 72 hours. To stay in touch and informed:
- A battery-powered radio, to hear official instructions.
- Torches and spare batteries.
- A charged power bank for your phone.
- Some cash: with no power, card machines don’t work.
5. A way to talk without the network
In Europe, PMR446 walkie-talkies need no licence and work over short distances. For longer distances, or to know where everyone is, you need radio devices that don’t rely on mobile phone masts.
That’s what we’re working on with the Montered family pack: paired devices that send each other “I’m OK” and your location by radio, with no network and no fees, ever. It’s still in development. If you’re interested, have a look at Montered for families and join the waitlist: we’ll keep you posted.