Ice storm leaves 330,000 without power, 30 dead

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Utility crews worked on Monday to restore electricity to about 330,000 Missouri households and businesses that were still without power in chilly weather following a storm blamed for 30 deaths across six states.
Crews hoped to take advantage of moderate weather expected Monday — with only a few lingering snow showers and flurries — to bring power back on before an expected drop in temperatures to the single digits Monday night.

The remains of the storm system streamed toward New England on Monday, shutting down numerous businesses, day care centers and schools in Maine with a mixture of sleet of snow that made roads treacherous.

Lower Michigan and parts of New England could see more than a foot of snow Monday, as rain fell from the lower Mississippi Valley up through the Ohio Valley, The National Weather Service said. On the back side of the storm, snow in Iowa closed some schools Monday.

Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday had been blamed for at least 15 deaths in Oklahoma, six in Missouri, five in Iowa, two in Texas and one each in New York and Maine.

Seven of the Oklahoma deaths occurred in one accident, in which a minivan carrying 12 people slid off an icy highway Sunday and struck an oncoming truck, the Highway Patrol said. All of the van's occupants were adult residents of Mexico, who were traveling from Arizona to North Carolina, Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West said.

Most of the Missouri power outages — the majority in the state's southwest corner — were caused by the weight of freezing rain snapping tree branches and dropping them onto power lines, officials said.

Guardsmen went door to door checking on the health and safety of residents in the hardest hit parts of the state and helping to clear slick roads. The temperature in the St. Louis area hovered just above the freezing mark Monday morning, but the wind chill was 24 degrees, the weather service said.

Amtrak canceled Sunday service between Kansas City and St. Louis because of to fallen trees and other debris on railroad tracks. Airlines in Texas canceled 415 flights because of the weather Sunday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. On Monday, 100 more departures at the airport were canceled.

In the St. Louis region, about 150,000 customers remained without power Sunday afternoon.

About 122,000 customers lacked power in Oklahoma as of Sunday night, the state Department of Emergency Management said. Authorities said it could be up to a week before power is fully restored. A gymnasium roof collapsed under the weight of ice and snow at Del City, Okla., but no one was inside, authorities said.

Late Sunday, President Bush declared a federal disaster for Oklahoma because of the storm.

Elsewhere, a weekend cold snap that had worried citrus growers and other farmers in California produced rare freezing temperatures Monday in southern Arizona. The 8 a.m. reading in Phoenix was 29, the weather service said.

During the weekend, the cold had frozen water pipes in the Phoenix area and flooded shelters with homeless people.

"This is something that we don't think about much here," said Ken Kroski, spokesman for the Phoenix Water Services Department, which was flooded with calls about burst pipes.

Disease fears rise after floods hit Malaysia

SERI MEDAN, Malaysia, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Fears of disease gripped Malaysia's flood-devastated south on Monday and more than 100,000 evacuees were crammed into emergency shelters.

Two people have died from leptospirosis, caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of animals such as rats, bringing the death toll from the worst floods in nearly 40 years to 15.

Health workers planned to step up inoculations against typhoid and fumigate mosquito-prone areas to guard against diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. Warnings have also been issued about cholera.

Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the Sun mobile phone news service that 106 schools in the hardest-hit state of Johor had been shut and would be used as relief centres. More than 40 schools were already inundated, the report added.

Tens of thousands of victims also faced food shortages following the return of heavy monsoon rains to southern states after last month's severe flooding.

"We are in grave need of food supplies," Welfare Minister Shahrizat Jalil said.

There were also reported cases of looting from abandoned homes, officials said.

Abdul Latif Sapri, a truck driver, and his family have been taking shelter at a relief camp for the past 26 days after floods swept through their riverside house last month.

The 55-year-old, who has been having sleepless nights from the flood trauma, says he is uncertain about his future.

"I'm puzzled why this is happening to me," Latif said in a crowded badminton hall-turned-relief centre in Seri Medan, a rural town in Johor.

Residents in Seri Medan said there was at least one case of malaria as well as several cases of jaundice.

"A 40-year-old Malay woman is in hospital with malaria," Abdul Latif, the flood victim, said.

Health department deputy chief Ramlee Rahmat warned the public not to play in dirty flood water and to wear clothes that covered their bodies to prevent them from becoming infected.

"But we are more concerned about food and water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera because those can spread fast. We are monitoring the situation," Ramlee told Reuters.

The symptoms of leptospirosis include diarrhoea, vomiting and kidney or liver problems.

The government said many people, who had returned home after the first floods, refused to leave home again.

"I cannot stress the urgency of evacuation enough," said Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman.

"The longer people opt to stay in their flooded homes, the higher the chances of facing the threat of attacks and diseases from animals," he said.

The latest floods cut off several towns in Johor, which is a major oil palm and rubber growing region, and shut down power and water supplies. Johor is just across a narrow strait from Singapore, which has also been hit by days of heavy rain.

The damage bill from last month's floods, which also displaced more than 100,000 people, was estimated at more than 100 million ringgit ($28 million).

Flood victims in Johor complained of inadequate supplies and cash aid.

"We don't have blankets, mattresses, pillows, soaps, infant's milk at this relief centre," said Mohamad Jamian, 57, who is taking refuge at a school.

"We have not seen the 500 ringgit promised by the government. But there are a lot of mosquitoes." ($1 = 3.5 ringgit)

Angolan cholera outbreak kills 2,760

LUANDA, Angola (AP) -- More than 2,760 people have died of cholera in Angola since an epidemic broke out last February, authorities said Monday.

The Health Ministry said in a report it had recorded more than 69,000 cases of cholera and 2,764 fatalities.

The epidemic, which started in Luanda, the capital, has spread to all but one of the southwest African country's 18 provinces.

Foreign aid agencies have been distributing water dispensers, water purification tablets and soap in affected areas.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. Though it can be treated easily, cholera is a major killer in developing countries.

Angola's health care and sanitation systems remain weak after a two-decade civil war that ended in 2002.