An emergency shelter at the Woodside Building on the grounds of the Taylor Community has been set up for elderly residents only.

Residents can call (603) 524-6881 to get transportation to the shelter.

Additional shelters for those in need have been set up at Gilford High School in Gilford and Prospect Mountain High School in Alton.

Laconia residents in need of shelter are asked to go to Gilford High School, where pets are welcome.

The State of New Hampshire has set up a telephone hotline for people having problems or special needs related to the ice storm.
Calls about power outages still should go to power companies and emergency calls still should go to 9-1-1.
People with other needs should call the hotline. The number is: 1-888-330-6764.

As of 2 p.m. power has been restored in The Weirs and throughout most of Meredith.

Gov. John Lynch this morning declared a state of emergency to ensure all state resources are available to help families impacted by the winter storm.

Gov. Lynch is now at the Emergency Operations in Concord. He, along with state officials, will conduct a media briefing on the winter storm at 4 p.m. today at the state Emergency Operations Center.

"With rain expected to continue and temperatures expected to drop as the day progresses it is important that the state has all its resources available to manage this situation. I urge all New Hampshire citizens to take sensible precautions and heed all warnings from public officials," Gov. Lynch said.

State Emergency management officials urge citizens to:

— Avoid unnecessary travel

— Watch for downed trees and power lines

— Avoid downed power lines

— Plan for prolonged power outages

— Contact local public safety officials if you are in need of sheltering assistance; The state Emergency Operations Center is working with the Red Cross and local communities to ensure shelters are available where necessary.

As of 2 p.m. Public Service of New Hampshire reports that about 320,000 of its customers are without power as a result of the ice build-up that is continuing to cause tree limbs and branches to snap, taking down power lines and affecting utility equipment. The number of customer outages could continue to climb this afternoon, with the potential for wind gusts and additional tree damage to occur.

As of 2 p.m., 26,838 New Hampshire Electrical Cooperative customers have been affected by the outages, including 7,945 in Belknap County or 54 percent of the utility's customers in the county — down from 80 percent earlier Friday morning.

Given the high number of scattered power outages, PSNH and the Co-Op anticipate that it could take several days to have power fully restored to all customers. The companies ask customers without power to plan for this possibility.

The Gilford Police has asked residents and those traveling in and around the area to use extreme caution and avoid using the roads if possible.

There are multiple trees and wires down across roads all over Gilford and traffic lights are out on Routes 11, 11B and 11C.

In Manchester, which along with most of the southern part of the state was hit hardest by the storm, television station WMUR-9 remains off the air after being knocked off late last night.

While power outages are happening across the state, the worst hit areas include communities in the band across Southern NH: Keene, Peterborough, Hillsboro, Milford, Nashua, Manchester, Derry, Epping, Portsmouth, and Rochester.

PSNH line crews will be working around the clock to restore service as quickly as possible. PSNH restores power first to customers in emergency situations. This typically includes hospitals, nursing homes, police and fire stations and customers on life-support systems.

Major circuits and lines serving the largest concentrations of people are repaired next. Once the major lines are repaired, lines feeding off of these circuits can be
repaired. Progress typically slows at this stage because power loss to individual residences can occur for a variety of reasons.

PSNH has about 190 line and tree-trimming crews working to restore power today and is working to secure several additional line crews from its sister utilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as from utilities in Ohio and Hydro-Quebec.