US: Thousands in shelters after US ice storm outages
31 Jan 2009 1:48 PM
Repair crews are racing to restoring power to a million homes and businesses in the eastern US .. after an ice storm crippled states from Missouri to West Virginia.
But thousands are still holed up in makeshift shelters because their homes have no water or heat.
Since the storm began on Monday .. the weather's been blamed for at least 42 deaths.
Utility companies warn power may not return until Saturday at the earliest .. and some places could take weeks.
And people hunkered down in their homes face long lines to buy generators .. firewood .. groceries .. and even bottled water .. because blackouts have crippled local pumping stations.
