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‘I can’t take it’: Thousands of Gary residents go over a week without power after deadly storms
TheGrio • • nation
Key Points:
- Severe storms on August 11 brought 99-mph winds to Northwest Indiana, causing widespread damage and leaving over 300,000 NIPSCO customers without power, marking one of the largest outages in the company's history.
- As of Wednesday, power has been restored to over 282,000 customers, but approximately 83,000 remain without electricity, with over 27,000 affected in Gary, a city with a predominantly Black population.
- The prolonged blackout has severely impacted residents' access to food, water, and cooling, with some reporting increased crime and a temporary pause in restoration efforts after a NIPSCO vehicle was shot at.
- Schools in the Gary Community School Corporation district remain closed due to ongoing recovery challenges, while Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced $5,000 grants for storm victims, and FEMA support has been approved.
- NIPSCO officials are optimistic about restoring power to 90% of customers by Tuesday and completing all repairs by Friday, despite residents expressing frustration over the slow recovery and hardships endured.
