COURIER-JOURNAL: FEMA: Ky. ice storm damage $185 million

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has estimated that damage from last month's ice storm may exceed $185 million across the state.

BATESVILLE DAILY GUARD: OEM Director voices frustrations at meeting

MELBOURNE — The bottled water coming into Izard County on pallets for those needing it is going to be rationed at this point. That’s what Dennis Williams told the quorum court members Tuesday night.

“(FEMA) just told me they’re running out. It’s not looking good,” said Williams, the coordinator for the Office of Emergency Management.

NY TIMES: Storm Disaster Is Declared in Kentucky

More than 150,000 Kentucky residents remained without power or potable water on Thursday after last week’s deadly ice storms, prompting President Obama to declare more than 90 counties a major disaster area and order federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts.

LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER: Utility, phone service outages isolate many areas

GREENVILLE — In recent years, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has spent tens of millions of dollars to improve the emergency communications systems across Kentucky.

All it took was one ice storm last week to knock out electricity and phone service, isolating desperate communities in Western Kentucky.

In different counties, police and firefighters lost the radios connecting them to dispatch centers; county leaders couldn't use telephones to call Frankfort for aid; and emergency officials scrambled to connect themselves to the outside world by any means available, relying on ham radio operators or relaying messages to friends in nearby Tennessee who remained online.

TIME: Kentucky's Ice Storm Worse in Aftermath

Life has come to a standstill in Kentucky, and it's difficult to imagine just who in the Bluegrass State had the more miserable Super Bowl weekend. For those half-million residents who were still without power Saturday night (and 200,000 who were also reported to be without water), this past weekend involved shuttling between one of the estimated 172 emergency shelters that have been operating across the state since Wednesday. For utility crews who worked overtime through the weekend — battling subzero conditions Friday and Saturday — the challenge was not just repairing a few downed lines, but instead rebuilding a ravaged utility infrastructure from the ground up.

YAHOO/REUTERS: Over 318,000 still without power in Midwest

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 318,000 homes and businesses remained without power Tuesday after snow and ice storms January 27-28 left almost 1.7 million customers in the dark from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, local utilities reported.

More than 200,000 customers were powerless in Kentucky and 100,000 in Arkansas.

YAHOO/REUTERS: More than 470,000 still without power in Midwest

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 470,000 homes and businesses were still without power Monday after snow and ice storms January 27-28 left nearly 1.7 million customers in the dark from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, local utilities reported.

The storms hit Kentucky the hardest, leaving more than 700,000 customers in the Bluegrass State without power.

USA TODAY: Ky. governor to seek major disaster in wake of ice storm

Gov. Steve Beshear says he will ask President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster in Kentucky, which will open the state to immediate federal financial assistance in the wake of last week's devastating ice storm.

The governor said the cost of cleanup now exceeds $45 million, the threshold for receiving a major disaster declaration, and is rising.

National Guard troops armed with chainsaws and beef stew rations reached out to residents still without power Sunday after the deadly ice storm paralyzed areas from the Ozarks through Appalachia.

Soldiers cut their way into some of the more remote communities Sunday, freeing residents who had not been able to get out of their driveways in nearly a week.

AP: Life after ice storm dire, getting worse in spots

MARION, Ky. (AP) — In some parts of rural Kentucky, they're getting water the old-fashioned way — with pails from a creek. There's not room for one more sleeping bag on the shelter floor. The creative are flushing their toilets with melted snow.

At least 42 people have died, including 11 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. And with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents.

On Friday, one county put it bluntly: It can't.

YAHOO/AP: Storm-struck KY calls up entire Army Nat'l Guard

MURRAY, Ky. – Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has called up all of his Army National Guard troop and some Air National Guard units to get the state back on its feet following a crippling ice storm.

The addition of 3,000 soldiers and airmen makes 4,600 Guardsmen pressed into service. It's the largest call-up in state history.

More than 400,000 people remain without power in Kentucky five days after the storm hit. Many others still lack electricity in other states from the Midwest into Appalachia.

The storm is suspected in at least 42 deaths across several states. Authorities say it could be weeks before some areas get power back.

FEMA: FEMA Coordinates Federal Assistance After Winter Weather Impacts The Central United States

Release Date: January 30, 2009
Release Number: FNF-09-003

The winter storm that recently swept through much of the country produced significant snow, sleet and ice that caused major power outages after trees and power lines were damaged.

Federal efforts throughout the affected areas include:

YAHOO/REUTERS: Over 600,000 still without power in Midwest

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 600,000 homes and businesses were still without power on Friday morning after snow and ice storms earlier this week left more than 1.5 million customers in the dark from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, local utilities reported.

USA TODAY: Deadly icy blast snuffs power, strands travelers

Snow and ice that slammed the country from Texas to Maine knocked out power to a million households, disrupted hundreds of flights and forced Kentucky state troopers to use four-wheelers to find stranded residents.

Ice ranging from thin layers to 2-inch slabs glazed a huge swath of the country, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service. The storm was blamed in 23 deaths, according to the Associated Press.

DAILY NEWS: Officials pleased with ice storm response emergency

WEST NEWBURY — All in all, the caliber of the emergency response to an ice storm last December was excellent, town leaders have agreed.

The Board of Selectmen held a debriefing last week with public safety and highway officials to review how well the public was served during the emergency. An ice storm on Dec. 8 resulted in an extended town-wide power outage, causing loss of heat and hot water for many residents. Countless basements flooded and ice-laden trees and branches were down all over town.

Emergency Management Director Scott Berkenbush, police Chief Lisa Holmes, fire Chief Raymond "Rock" Dower and DPW Director Gary Bill participated in the debriefing, which included analysis of the response and some suggestions for improvement in the event of a future emergency.

OAHU STAR-BULLETIN: Power gradually comes back on

Power was gradually being restored to Oahu this morning after most of the island was sunk into darkness for 12 hours or more, apparently due to a lightning storm.

As of 8:40 a.m., Hawaiian Electric Co. officials said about 182,000 out of 295,000 customers were back online as the company brought the island back on methodically to avoid overloading the system.

The blackout thrust Hawaii’s electrical generation problems into the international spotlight as the state’s most famous native son, President-elect Barack Obama, and his family were affected in their Kailua vacation compound. The home had emergency power and Heco officials said they sent a backup generator to the home last night.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said at about 10:10 p.m. that Honolulu police had talked to Obama. “He said he is fine and he and his family are going to bed,” the mayor said on KSSK.

NY TIMES: Prius: It’s Not Just a Car, It’s an Emergency Generator

The Prius has a new use, and it does not involve driving. The Harvard Press — which serves the Massachusetts town of Harvard as opposed to the university — reported that the car’s battery helped keep the lights on for some locals during the recent ice storms.

SANFORD NEWS: Sizing up the damage

YORK COUNTY — The Dec. 11 ice storm that wreaked havoc in York County and left thousands of residents without electricity for an extended period is over, for the most part, except for the clean-up and the bill.

York County Emergency Management Agency Director Robert Bohlmann said Monday that public damages resulting from the storm are currently estimated at more than $2 million, but not all towns have reported their figures yet. Most of the storm costs are for debris removal for trees and limbs that came down, for emergency shelter expenses, and for overtime expenses for fire, police and public works crews. Bohlmann said the final tally will probably be about $2.5 million or more.