Residents across the U.S. Midwest entered their third day without electricity on Wednesday, as energy crews scrambled to repair lines knocked down by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. After Ike hit Texas, where it caused severe damage in coastal communities, it continued to wreak havoc, dropping up to 10 inches of rain in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri as it moved inland. The rainwater has caused rivers to rise in most places and overflow in some. Flood warnings are still in effect across much of the affected area. In Ohio, which along with Kentucky experienced hurricane-force winds, about 1.3 million homes and businesses were without electricity on Tuesday. The governors of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania have declared states of emergency in the wake of the storm, which was responsible for 49 deaths in 11 states. Across Kentucky, nearly 300,000 customers were still without power, down from as many as 600,000 customers, state officials said. Power was also out in parts of western Pennsylvania, where about 64,000 customers remained in the dark early Wednesday. Across Illinois, officials said electricity had been restored to nearly all of the 49,000 without power. Much of the Chicago area also was returning to normal Tuesday, as floodwaters began to recede.
