The number of homes without power continues to climb, as Hurricane Sandy buffets the region with fierce winds and rain.

Reports of power outages have been rising rapidly since nightfall Monday. As of 10:00 p.m. Monday, there were more than 193,000 homes without electricity in the state, and those numbers are expected to rise overnight.

There were 120,000 homes reported without power three hours earlier.

The storm has been the cause of at least one critical injury. A man in Windham was rushed to the hospital after a tree fell on his vehicle, according to the state emergency management office. He is in critical condition and has not been identified.

As of Monday night, about 124,000 customers of Public Service of New Hampshire, the state's largest utility, were without power.

Spokesman Martin Murray said the number of outages already matches the total number PSNH experienced during Hurricane Irene last year.

He said utility crews are working to restore power, as conditions permit.

“We have line crews working now, and they will be working overnight,” Martin said. “Obviously, they'll really rev it up in the daylight hours and as local conditions allow it.”

Murray said the storm is most severely impacting the lower two-thirds of the state, as was the case with both

Hurricane Irene and the snowstorm last October that left 237,000 PSNH customers without power.
In addition, fallen debris had forced the closure of 167 local roads and 28 state roads, as of Monday night, according the state emergency office.

Hurricane Sandy has also prompted the closure of many schools across the state for a second day, including the districts of Manchester and Nashua.

tsiefer@unionleader.com