About 400,000 customers in eastern Canada and 280,000 in the US state of Michigan had no power as of Monday.

 

In Toronto, a utility has said power will be restored for most residents by Thursday, but that some may not have electricity until the weekend.

 

The city has opened several warming centres across the city.

 

Temperatures as low as -15C (5F) are expected in southern Canada over the next few days.

 

At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the storm system in North America, five of them in accidents on ice-covered Canadian roads.

 

 

An estimated 10-30 mm of ice built up on trees and other surfaces in the greater Toronto area during the storm.

 

Sheets of ice fell from buildings and moving vehicles, Canadian TV channel CBC said.

 

Via Rail warned customers travelling between Toronto and Montreal, Ottawa and New York to expect delays on Monday.

 

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford¹ resisted declaring a state of emergency, but said getting electricity to hospitals and community housing should be a priority.

 

Efforts to reconnect power continued through the night and Toronto Hydro said it was able to restore electricity to about 85,000 customers in the Toronto area.

 

Another 100,000 customers were without power in wider Ontario as well as about 50,000 in Quebec and 6,000 more in New Brunswick.

 

Earlier, Toronto Hydro's chief executive officer Anthony Haines said it was "truly a catastrophic ice storm that we have had here, probably one of the worst we've ever had".

 

Officials warned high winds on Monday could bring down more branches and power lines.

 

Flights were delayed or cancelled due to the storm in the US and Canada at one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

 

In New York's St Lawrence County, almost two inches (51mm) of ice had accumulated on Sunday.

 

More than 400,000 people were also left without power in the northern US after the storm.

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