WASHINGTON (AP) -- From North Carolina to New Jersey, 2 million people without electricity are asking the same question: Why will it take so long to get the lights back on?
Nearly three full days after a severe summer storm lashed the East Coast, utilities warned that many neighborhoods could remain in the dark for much of the week, if not beyond.
Friday's storm arrived with little warning, so utility companies have had to wait days for extra crews traveling from as far away as Quebec and Oklahoma. And the toppled trees and power lines often entangled broken equipment in debris that must be removed before workers can even get started.
Adding to the urgency of the repairs are the sick and elderly, who are especially vulnerable without air conditioning in the sweltering triple-digit heat. Many sought refuge in hotels or basements.
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Giovanny Alvarez, a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, leaves after delivering mail to a residence in Washington, Monday, July 2, 2012, damaged by the powerful storm that swept through the region Friday. AP / Evan Vucci
A Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) worker blocks the street after trees are felled on Lake Ave. in Baltimore on Monday July 2, 2012, after a severe storm late Friday swept through the region. AP / Jose Luis Magana
A pedestrian takes a look at downed trees blocking the entrance of a house in Baltimore on Monday July 2, 2012, after a severe storm swept through the region late Friday. AP / Jose Luis Magana
Harris Teeter grocery store employee Andrew Singh piles bags of ice for free distribution in Bethesda, Md., Monday, July 2, 2012, to help community members in Northern Virginia and Maryland affected by Friday storm. AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta
A tree sitting atop a vehicle offers free firewood in Falls Church, Va., Monday, July, 2, 2012, as cleanup continued after Friday's storm, Around 2 million utility customers are without electricity across a swath of states along the East Coast and as far west as Illinois as the area recovers from a round of summer storms that has also caused at least 17 deaths. AP / Matthew Barakat
Downed and leaning powerlines on the water works access road across from the Delilah Road ramp connecting to Route 30 eastbound to Atlantic City, N.J., Sunday, July 1 2012. The Press of Atlantic City / Ben Fogletto
Carolyn Atris and Peter Tribble remove belongings from this home located after officials deemed the house unsafe for occupancy after a severe storm toppled a tree, causing foundation damage and a natural gas leak, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in Wilson, N.C. The Wilson Times / Brad Coville
Marcia McCloud (right) and her great-granddaughter Makayla Milton, find some comfort together at the Red Cross cooling shelter at Sandusky Middle School in Lynchburg, Va., July 1, 2012. The News & Advance / Parker Michels-Boyce
Fairfax Hall resident Catherine Davis lays down on a cot in the cafeteria at Kate Collins Middle School on Sunday, July 1, 2012, in Waynesboro, Va. The Daily News Leader / Pat Jarrett
A car sits, crushed by a fallen tree, on Carrington Road in Lynchburg, Va., July 1, 2012. Two days after storms tore across the eastern U.S., power outages were forcing people to get creative to stay cool in dangerously hot weather. The News & Advance / Parker Michels-Boyce
Joe Tiago takes pictures of a downed utility pole and electric transformer on Old Keene Mill Road, Sunday, July 1, 2012 in Springfield Va. AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Tyler Taylor, 14, of Falls Church, Va., walks across a large downed tree in Falls Church, Va., Sunday, July 1, 2012. AP / Cliff Owen
Residents of the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, navigate underneath a downed tree, Sunday, July 1, 2012. AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
CHad Pechman walks through his yard in West Chicago, Ill. after a neighbor's tree came through the roof of his home during a storm in West Chicago on Sunday. Chicago Tribune / Scott Strazzante
A Lynchburg City worker ties power lines above a traffic signal at Oakley and Memorial Avenues, July 1, 2012. The News & Advance / Parker Michels-Boyce
Utility workers secure power lines on a pole in Springfield, Va., Sunday, July 1, 2012. A severe storm late Friday knocked out power to approximately one million residents, traffic signals and businesses in the region. AP / Cliff Owen
Lighting flashes Saturday morning, June, 30, 2012 in Hebron Md.. The Salisbury Daily Times / Kristin Roberts
Lightning flashes across the sky behind road flares which signal the closing of Studley Rd. in Hanover County, Va. on Saturday, June 30, 2012. Richmond Times-Dispatch / Dean Hoffmeyer
A two-alarm fire started by a lightning strike from a thunderstorm late Friday night engulfs a home north of Frederick, Md., early Saturday, June 30, 2012. The fire was reported at about 11:45 p.m., Friday during a storm system that went through the area. There were numerous reports of trees and power lines down in the area from the storms. The Frederick News-Post / Sam Yu
A pedestrian helps a bicyclist navigate a sidewalk blocked by a fallen tree that also damaged a parked vehicle in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, Saturday, June 30, 2012. AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Workers use a golf cart to carry branches from a tree that fell onto the 14th fairway at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, June 30, 2012, after a strong storm blew through overnight. AP / Patrick Semansky
From left, Ashliegh Dola hugs Vicki Hunt while Andrew Henry looks at fallen trees on Rivermet Avenue in Fort Wayne, Ind. Saturday, June 30, 2012. The Journal Gazette / Dan Stockman
Frances Lukens looks at the tangle of boards and tree limbs piercing her living room ceiling in Lynchburg, Va. on Saturday, June 30, 2012 after a huge oak tree fell directly on the house during a storm the previous night. The News & Advance / Parker Michels-Boyce
Using crutches, Cooper Scott talks about the car where he and his mother were trapped in Lynchburg, Va. Saturday, June 30, 2012 after a large oak tree fell on them during a violent storm the night before. The News & Advance / Parker Michels-Boyce
A worker gathers wires taken down by fallen tree, Saturday, June, 30, 2012, in Northfield, N.J. Severe thunderstorms packing heavy rain, lightning and strong winds that gusted up to 70 mph hit the state Saturday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and killing at least two. AP / Mel Evans
A broken section of a utility pole dangles from cables at Patcong and Wabash Avenues, in Linwood, N.J. on Saturday, June 30, 2012 after a fast moving storm caused power outages in southern New Jersey. The Press of Atlantic City / Vernon Ogrodnek
A massive oak tree sits on two cars on Weber Road in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, June 30, 2012 after it fell in Friday evening's thunderstorms, uprooting a sidewalk. The Columbus Dispatch / Abigail S. Fisher
A car hit by a damaged tree sits parked in the street in Falls Church, Va. on Saturday, June 30, 2012. AP / Cliff Owen
A worker uses a chainsaw to clear branches from a tree that fell onto the 14th fairway at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, June 30, 2012, after a strong storm blew through overnight. AP / Patrick Semansky
Linda Di Bernardo mends the first aid tent at the Smithsonian's Folk Life Festival on the National Mall Saturday, June 30, 2012 in Washington. AP / Alex Brandon
Geraldine Gike, left, Kessy Siben, 7, Kelly Asomi, 9, and Lilian Bime pass the time in a cooling center at a Red Cross shelter at Northwestern High School gym Saturday, June 30, 2012 in Hyattsville, Md. AP / Alex Brandon
Robert St. Denny plays with his daughter, 9-month-old Lily St. Denny, as his wife Kelly Reyes sits at right, at a Red Cross shelter at Northwestern High School gym Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Hyattsville, Md. AP / Alex Brandon
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