WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions across the mid-Atlantic region are sweltering in the aftermath of violent storms that pummeled the East with high winds and downed trees last night.
The storms are being blamed for the deaths of at least 13 people and leaving 3 million without power during a triple-digit heat wave.
Power officials say the outages won't be repaired for several days to a week, likening the damage to a serious hurricane. Emergencies have been declared in Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, the District of Columbia and Virginia.
The storm also stranded 232 Amtrak passengers overnight on a train in West Virginia.
Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm says all the passengers have been loaded onto buses that will ferry them to their eventual destination. They buses departed by 8:20 p.m. Saturday.
The riders aboard a train from New York to Chicago had been stranded near the town of Prince since about 11 p.m. Friday because fallen trees were blocking the tracks in front of the train and behind it.
Kulm says the train had power, lights and air conditioning. Passengers could get in and out because they were parked at a station. The train was also stocked with food. The stranded train was first reported by the transportation blog Jalopnik.
Across the region cell phone and Internet service is spotty. Gas stations are shut down and residents are being urged to conserve water until sewage plants return to power.
The outages are especially dangerous because they've left the region without air conditioning in an oppressive heat. Temperatures have been at or near 100 to day.