If Denmark were to experience a power outage like the one that hit Spain and Portugal on Monday and Tuesday, the chaotic conditions would be the same.
That is what Bjarne Nigaard, head of the secretariat of the Danish Emergency Services, believes. He does not believe that Denmark is prepared for a similar outage.
- The sectors that have a responsibility to deliver our critical infrastructure must know what the minimum requirement is. Right now, each sector is guessing separately about how little is actually enough. It is not certain that they will guess correctly, and then there will be gaps in the crisis planning, where citizens will experience that vital functions will be missing for a shorter or longer period of time.
The sectors concern crucial elements of society such as electricity, water, heating, health, food and transport.
According to the head of the secretariat, there are currently no established frameworks and emergency plans for how long the sectors will be able to manage with, for example, emergency generators. Therefore, "several sectors will capitulate" if a similar breakdown hits our latitudes.
- Denmark is a fine machine, but if the gears do not mesh at the right times, the machine will grind to a halt, says Bjarne Nigaard.
In the event of a major power outage in Denmark, it will be problematic to get water or fill up your car with fuel. This is because water and petrol pumps are typically connected to electricity in order to work.
- Trains and traffic lights will stop working, and chaotic conditions will be created. Many will be stuck in the metro or in elevators, says the head of the secretariat.
- I am quite sure that Denmark would experience similar chaotic conditions to what has been seen in Spain, it is said.
The majority of the electricity returned to Spain on Tuesday morning. However, a power outage on Monday darkened large parts of the country. As a result of the crash, Spain activated its emergency response and several areas declared a state of emergency.
Trains across the country were halted, traffic ended in chaos in several places, phone coverage was lost, and people were stuck in subways and elevators.
/ritzau/
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