America: The Frozen; Storm Leaves Hundreds of Thousands Without Power, 54 Dead

By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS

McALESTER, Okla. – Hundreds of people hunkered down in emergency shelters and thousands stuck it out in darkened homes after a winter storm that left 54 dead in nine states.

About 340,000 homes and businesses in several states were still without electricity late Tuesday after a storm that brought ice, snow, flooding and high winds to a swath of the country from Texas to Maine.

At the First Baptist Church in McAlester, Okla., where most of the city’s 18,000 residents have lacked power for four days, residents huddled under blankets and in front of space heaters.

"If it wasn’t for the shelter, I don’t know where we’d be," said Tara Guzman, 38, while playing board games with her four children. "We’re tough; we lasted when the power went out until (Monday). We brought mattresses out in the living room and cuddled."

Eighty-five shelters across Missouri were expected to accommodate more than 3,600 people Tuesday night, according to the State Emergency Management Agency. About 163,000 homes and businesses still had no electricity.

In the town of Buffalo – population 2,800 – nearly all stores, gas stations and restaurants were closed Tuesday.

"There are no services," Mayor Jerry Hardesty said. "I’ve talked to residents who have lived here 50 years and nobody can remember it ever being this bad."

The town lost all its power by Saturday. Water towers ran dry Sunday, and water service was restored only late Monday, after the National Guard hooked a generator up to a pumping station.

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