Snowed in in the suburbs, and just about the whole of America’s northeast, where more than a million homes are without power and facing a long wait before it is restored.

The country’s creaking infrastructure was strained when temperatures plunged in an ice storm, bringing down powerlines and trees.

It could take a week to get everything back to normal.

Four states have declared a partial or full state of emergency after the storm – the worst in a decade -ploughed from Pennsylvania to Maine. New Hampshire was the worst hit, where the peak power outages were the worst in history.

Shelters for those forced out of their freezing homes are being kept busy, and President Bush has made some federal aid available.

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