Perilous
Times
13 dead, millions without power after rare U.S. storm
By Lauren Keiper | Reuters
BOSTON (Reuters) - Devastation from a rare and deadly October
snowstorm lingered in the U.S. Northeast where 1.6 million homes
were still without power on Monday, schools were closed and downed
trees and powerlines snarled traffic.
The storm that raged from West Virginia to Maine from Saturday
until late Sunday was blamed for at least 13 deaths, most on
slippery roads.
Halloween fun was postponed. Ghoul and goblin decorations were
blanketed with record snowfall for October in many places, such as
32 inches (81 cm) measured in the western Massachusetts town of
Peru, according to the National Weather Service.
Theo Brinkerhoff, 4, who planned to dress as a ghost on Monday but
was forced to wear a heavy sweater and snow boots under his
costume to keep warm, refused to believe it was the bewitching
autumn holiday.
"It's not Halloween, because it's still winter," he said while
visiting grandparents in Amherst, Massachusetts, a town still
mostly in the dark.
Many roads were still barricaded to steer traffic away from downed
trees and power lines. Utility officials said the storm caused
more tree damage than most winter storms because leaves had not
yet fallen so trees caught far more snow than usual.
"It was like wet cement that just adhered to trees, branches,
leaves and power lines," said David Graves, spokesman for utility
National Grid.
"That's what really caused the damage, the weight of that snow,"
he said.
In New York, three days after authorities confiscated their
generators, hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters struggled to
stay warm and dry after the snow storm. Some got tips on how to
deal with the cold weather from homeless people.
"They have the most amazing knowledge base for dealing with cold
weather," protester Justin Stone-Diaz said. "So honestly, we're
getting it from people with experience."
Occupy Wall Street demonstrators have camped in a New York park
for six weeks to protest against economic inequality.
DAYS BEFORE POWER BACK
It will likely be days before power is restored to all residents
in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and other states hit
hard by the storm.
Despite a sunny Monday, several New Jersey Transit train lines
going into New York City remained suspended.
Connecticut was particularly hard hit and Governor Dannel Malloy
said 100 state roads were closed and about 200 more partially
closed. He called the power outages in his state the worst in
history. As residents escaped homes without heat and electricity,
hotels in central Connecticut were sold out.
Snow days, usually not tapped until at least after Thanksgiving,
were declared by scores of public schools that remained shut
throughout the Northeast on Monday.
While children were delighted with the surprise long weekend,
their parents were advised that because of downed wires, Halloween
trick-or-treat routines should be adjusted so children were home
by dark and an adult accompanied them.
In Worcester, Massachusetts, the city asked parents, schools and
neighbors to postpone Halloween celebrations until Thursday, when
the weather was expected to be warmer and downed trees and power
lines would likely be cleared.
The New Hampshire communities of Manchester and Nashua asked
parents to put off trick or treating and reschedule the annual
candy collection until Sunday, Nov. 6.
The outages include roughly 750,000 customers still without power
on Monday in Connecticut; about 46,000 in Massachusetts; more than
390,000 in New Jersey; 350,000 in Pennsylvania; nearly 60,000 in
New York; and about 14,000 in Maine.
(Additional reporting by Zach Howard in Western Massachusetts;
Mary Ellen Godin in Connecticut, Barbara Goldberg in New Jersey
and Sharon Reich and Edward McAllister in New York; editing by
Cynthia Johnston and Anthony Boadle)