Ice crisis takes 2 lives in upstate New York
15/12/2008 17:13
The ice crisis in the Capital Region of upstate New York has taken two
lives, and power is not expected to fully return until Wednesday, local media
reported yesterday.
Carbon monoxide poisoning claimed the lives of Ralph and
Mary Fazio in Glenville, local newspaper Times Union reported on its website,
citing town police.
A family member called police at 8 am (1300 GMT) Saturday
after finding Ralph Fazio Jr., 65, in the living room. He was pronounced dead
after being taken to hospital. Mary Fazio, 61, was found dead in an upstairs
bedroom.
Police were cited as saying a gas-powered generator in their
attached garage produced a large amount of carbon monoxide that eventually
filled the home.
The US National Grid and local government agencies are
slowly recovering from the devastating ice storm that began Thursday.
As of
Saturday evening, more than 141,000 homes and businesses were still without
power in the Capital Region.
Officials were urging homeowners to take safety
precautions and not use appliances such as generators indoors. They also asked
residents to check on their friends.
"By Wednesday, we hope to have the
entire storm cleaned up," said Susan Crossett, a senior vice president at
National Grid.
The ice invasion at one point left more than 240,000 Capital
Region homes and businesses without power. It included not only National Grid
customers, but those of New York State Electric and Gas and Central
Hudson.
The Capital Region is an imprecise regional definition that generally
refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of New York State.
Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New
York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of the state's
total 18,976,457.
Xinhua
|
