CNN

At least 800,000 customers in New England are still without electricity on Sunday after an ice storm ravaged the region, officials say. President Bush has authorized federal aid by declaring a state of emergency in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Joseph Shoplack stayed at a Red Cross shelter Saturday night in Southwick. He lasted only one day in his home without power or heat. “They came [Saturday] and asked me how am I and I said, ‘It’s awful, it’s very, very cold and I’m not well,’” he told WWLP Channel 22.

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In New Hampshire, more than 300,000 residents had no electricity, CNN affiliate WMUR in Manchester said, citing reports from four of the state’s utility companies. The station reported that fire departments across the state were scrambling to respond to reports of transformer explosions, downed power lines and utility poles, as well as burning and felled trees.

State officials have asked FEMA for cots for 70 shelters, where 1,800 people slept in shelters Saturday night, said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge. It may take two days to restore power to all the affected homes. “The problem is there is so much debris on the roads from the storm [that] our crews cannot get to some places,” Judge said.  It may also take two days to return power to homes in Maine, officials said.

He said 750 National Guard troops have been sent to help. Although much of the ice melted Saturday, it froze again Saturday night. Read more here and here.

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