Quarter million still without power in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (CNN) - Over a quarter of a million people in
Kentucky remained without power Monday after a devastating winter storm
pummeled the state last week with ice and snow.

National Guard troops continued to go door-to-door Monday morning,
checking on families in the areas worst hit by what Gov. Steve Beshear called
"the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern
history."

Emergency personnel said up to 6,500 residents had to leave their homes
for other shelter across the state as conditions deteriorated.

"Folks that thought they could weather it out are now heading to shelters
because they're running out of supplies," Kentucky Emergency Management Agency
spokesman Gary "Buddy" Rogers told CNN.

The storm has been blamed for at least 16 deaths in a crisis authorities
expect could leave people without power for "a couple more weeks", he added.

Rogers said many of those deaths resulted from carbon monoxide poisoning
after residents pulled power generators inside their homes to keep warm.