hundreds of thousands maybe...not sure how many people live in those areas
I might be exaggerating but it will be months and months of work
just get the water main off before the pipes think about thawing...sounds like you will only have wall/floor potential issues, this ceiling stuff is just horrible...I expect water heaters to fall into rooms below for some folks, and tons of other wacky stuff
just get the water main off before the pipes think about thawing... when you think everything is thawed out and want to slowly test your lines maybe keep somebody watching the water meter as you open up the water supply again...if there is water going thru that meter but you aren't drawing it inside thru a faucet, hose valve, toilet, etc., then you know it is going somewhere you don't want it
When I shut off my water to work on something I also turn off my hot water heater, if for some reason the water heater is empty it can damage itself if still trying to heat water...better safe than sorry, it is probably frozen solid right now...I have never seen how a water heater reacts to being frozen solid(
@Lars R. Biden you ever seen this?)