Midwest Tragedy: Still Without Power, Toll Rising

UPDATE: USAToday has just issued an article that says that 157,000 people are still without power in the state of Kentucky as of Thursday morning, and that President Obama has issued a major disaster declaration for the state.

ORIGINAL POST: I'm not sure the mainstream press is giving enough coverage to the devastation that continues in Kentucky and surrounding areas hit by last week's ice storm. The governor has called it "the state's worst natural disaster in modern history." CBSNews says that he Kentucky government believes that FEMA is doing a good job in what FEMA describes as a "medium-sized disaster," but residents aren't so sure.

We've received some touching stories from AccuWeather.com viewers and invite you to read them, and submit your own to this special topic in our Forums. Here are some stats from USAToday and the Associated Press:

- 1,300,000 lost power at the height of the storm- 218,000 are still without power (as of Wed. morning)- Cost over $45 Million and rising- Death toll 55 and rising (24 in Kentucky alone)

MY PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRIES ON THIS STORM:

- Storm Summary- Incredible Freezing Rain, Sleet Amounts- What 3 Inches of Freezing Rain Looks Like- Possibility of Major Ice Storm Looming

I personally believe the death toll will likely rise again today because cold weather has overtaken the area, which had warmed up over the weekend. Frankfort, Kentucky only got up to 19 F yesterday, and fell to -3 this morning. Some people have perished of hypothermia, others from carbon monoxide poisoning while running generators indoors.