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More Than 1M Still Powerless After Ice Storm

Thousands still in shelters

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 30, 2009 2:25 PM CST

(Newser) – From Missouri to West Virginia, thousands of people are still holed up in makeshift shelters as utility crews frantically work to return water and heat to their homes, the AP reports. More than 1.3 million homes remain without power after the recent ice storm, and though workers are making progress, utility companies say it could be 2 weeks before the hardest-hit areas get back on the grid.

“We got food, but I'm just worried about staying warm,” said one woman, who was standing in a 50-person line to buy kerosene in Paducah, Ky. Motels offering special “power outage rates” are booked solid. One theater in Kentucky is stuffed to the gills, and many people sleep in the aisles or seats. With cell phone reception spotty, volunteers are roaming neighborhoods, letting people know where to find shelter.

Rob Serverius of Manchester, N.H. clears ice-covered branches of trees from a closed road after a storm in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008.
Rob Serverius of Manchester, N.H. clears ice-covered branches of trees from a closed road after a storm in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
A line crew with Southwestern Electric Power Company saws off limbs that are hanging across power lines in Fayetteville, Ark., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009.
A line crew with Southwestern Electric Power Company saws off limbs that are hanging across power lines in Fayetteville, Ark., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009.   (AP Photo/April L. Brown)
Caleb Chalker of T&D Power of Beaumont, Texas,works on a power line Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009 in Mountain Home, Ark.
Caleb Chalker of T&D Power of Beaumont, Texas,works on a power line Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009 in Mountain Home, Ark.   (AP Photo)
A red Robin lands on a tree branch along Wentworth Avenue in Clifton, Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009.
A red Robin lands on a tree branch along Wentworth Avenue in Clifton, Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009.   (AP Photo)
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