. >> had friday's storm come through an hour later, suzette and michael may not have survived. an oak tree crashed through their bedroom. >> our first thought were the girls. he said stay here and he ran up and i followed him, our girls amazingly were still sleeping. >> the girls bedrooms are upstairs, thankfully on the other side of the house. >> i ran up with no shoes on, breaking glass. >> michael and suzette scooped them up and ran downstairs. they called 911, but couldn't get through. >> i got blankets and took one kid at a time. you open the front door, and there was an electrical line. >> while their los is severe, they know it can be replaced. >> that's how melissa matthews feels after she narrowly missed getting speared by a tree branch. >> couch is typically right here about 2 feet away from this window and the branch came down, probably about 6 inches from where my head was. >> her three-year-old daughter was crying. >> this is my daughter's window and this until i cleaned it up was one solid mess of broken glass. >> both families understand people are upset about no

. >> people like suzette and michael mcgrand, a tree crashed through their bedroom as they were watchingnight. >> it was like a train going through your house. >> i thought tornado. >> reporter: luckily, no one in the mcgrand household was hurt. paramedics continued looking for ways to cool off and charge up. this area packed since the lights went out. the state's governor, calling on residents to alert power companies to help pinpoint where resources need to go. >> we need citizens to call for utility companies and let them know that your house is still out. >> reporter: homeland security experts are looking at last week's surprise storm as a test run for what could happen in the event of a malicious terrorist attack. a test that so far has failed. >> it's completely unacceptable to not have these basic needs met for an extended period of time. >> reporter: dan canews ski was an adviser to president bush. he handled the aftermath of hurricane katrina and says this weakens the infrastructure. >> wide spread, sustained power outages, are among the top concerns of homeland security officia

. >> reporter: people, like suzette and michael mcgran.crashes through a bedroom, as they were watching a movie friday night. >> it was like a train going through your house? >> yeah. i mean, i thought tornado. >> reporter: luckily, no one in the grand household was hurt. >> reporter: pairmdzs continued looking for ways to cool off and charge up. this liz burglary in the maryland suburbs, packed since the lights went out. the state's concern, calling to help pinpoint resources. >> we now need for citizens to call utility companies and let them know that your house is still out. >> reporter: homeland security experts are looking at last week's surprise storm, as a test run for what could happen in the event of a malicious terrorist attack. a test run that so far has failed. >> it's completely unacceptable to not have these basic needs met for an extended period of time. >> reporter: dan canoeski was a disaster adviser to president george w. bush. he handled the damage after hurricane katrina. and says storms like this have exposed weaknesse

. >> reporter: people like suzette and family. >> it was like a train going through your house. >> i thought tornado. >> reporter: luckily, no one in the mcgran household was hurt. powerless residents around the region continued looking for ways to cool off and charge up. this library in the maryland suburbs, packed since the lights went out. the state's governor, calling on residents to alert power companies to help pinpoint where resources need to go. >> we now need for citizens to call the utility touches and let them know that your house is still out. >> reporter: homeland security experts are looking at last week's surprise storm as a test run for what could happen in the event of a malicious terrorist attack, a test run that so far has failed. >> it's completely unacceptable to not have these basic needs met for an extended period of time. >> reporter: dan ka niewski handled the recovery after hurricane katrina. and says events like this week's storm, have exposed weaknesses in infrastructure, as several power companies are struggling to bring residents online. >> widespread, s

. >> people, like suzette and michael mcgrann. a tree crashed through their bedroom as they were watching a movie friday night. >> it was like a train. >> thought tornado. >> luckily, no one in the mcgrann household was hurt. powerless residents continued looking for ways to cool off and charge up. this library in the maryland suburbs packed since the lights went out. the state's governor calling on residents to alert power companies to help pinpoint where resources need to go. >> we now need for citizens to call the utility companies and let them know that your house is still out. >> homeland security experts are looking at last week's surprise storm as a test run for what could happen in the event of a terrorist attack. a test run that has failed so far. >> it's completely unaccept toobl not have these basic needs met. >> dan kaniewski was a disaster response adviser to president george w. bush. he handled the recovery after hurricane katrina and says events like this week's storm exposed weaknesses in infrastructure as several