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400,000 still without power in North Carolina
RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) -- North Carolina's governor said Monday he is asking President Bush to declare his state a federal disaster area because of the enormous cost of cleanup and recovery from last week's ice storm. Gov. Michael Easley said more than 400,000 people were still without power Monday afternoon, down from a peak of 1.5 million Friday morning. Line crews were working 16-hour shifts to turn the lights back on. "The power companies say they're in a position to move more rapidly today, tonight, and tomorrow now that the main feeders of the substations have been restored," Easley said at a news conference. Damage from the storm, which hit the Carolinas Thursday, has cost the state at least $8.7 million so far, said Bryan Beatty, secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. He said the figure does not include costs for debris removal and overtime pay for police and fire departments and the National Guard. Since Wednesday, when the snow and freezing rain began to fall, there have been 6,200 traffic accidents across the state, the majority of which were storm-related, Easley said. Four people in North Carolina died in such accidents, the public safety department reported. National Guard troops remained on the job, checking on hundreds of households to ask residents if they need food, shelter, or other immediate assistance. Carbon monoxide poisoning was still a problem because some people without power have brought charcoal grills inside to cook or stay warm. At least 25 people in 11 states were killed in the storm, primarily in traffic accidents.
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