National Guard units were activated in 15 jurisdictions: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Guard members have performed vehicle recoveries and assisted stranded motorists, traffic management, health-and-welfare checks, transporting first responders and residents (including escorts to warm shelters), staging vehicles/equipment, and pushing or pulling vehicles from snow/ice—typical disaster-response missions.
State authorities (governors or local officials) authorized the activations in the affected states and D.C.; the National Guard Bureau coordinated but did not federally mobilize (no indication President federalized the Guards for this response).
Officials say Guardsmen will remain on duty “as long as they are needed,” but no fixed end date was published; duration is determined by state requests and evolving local needs.
Yes. Federal agencies are involved: FEMA and Department of Energy are coordinating with states and utilities (DOE issued emergency orders to deploy backup generation in affected regions); the National Guard Bureau is coordinating with state requests.
Residents should contact their state or local emergency management office (or call local non‑emergency numbers) to request assistance; National Guard assistance is provided only at the request of state/local authorities and information is posted by state emergency management and National Guard public affairs offices.
Yes. Media and official reports cite multiple storm-related fatalities and widespread power outages (hundreds of thousands to over a million at peak in some reports); major infrastructure impacts were reported in multiple states. Exact casualty and damage totals remain being tallied by local authorities.