Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said a nationwide blackout of this scale had never happened before in Spain. He added that the underlying cause remains unclear.

Subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights, ATM machines and more were knocked offline in the two countries and parts of France around midday Monday.

For days, much of the Gaza Strip has been without cellphone and internet access. The laws of war were written well before the World Wide Web, but some see communication as a fundamental right.

The Texas Department of State Health Services adjusted the number of people who died from last February's storm to 246 people — up from July's tally of 210.