In Gary, Indiana, severe storms have left residents like Shatiya Hardin without power for days. She describes the situation as “absolutely horrible,” mentioning the discomfort and challenges faced at night, especially for children and the elderly who rely on electricity for medical equipment.
The powerful storms, which began on August 11, caused the deaths of at least seven people and displaced around 1,000 residents in northwest Indiana. Record rainfall led to flooding, further intensifying the disaster in communities like Gary, where over half the population lost electricity at some point. Data from the U.S. Census indicates that about a third of the city’s residents live below the poverty line.
“It’s not OK for us to continually be in survival mode,”
Hardin expressed frustration over the lack of services and the darkness that envelops the city at night without power.
Efforts to restore power are ongoing. As of Saturday, over 30,100 customers served by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company were still experiencing outages. The peak saw 374,500 customers left in the dark. In response to the devastation, Indiana Governor Mike Braun has requested an expedited major disaster declaration from FEMA, covering 54 counties. He estimates storm-related losses could exceed $5 billion, a sentiment he shared on social media, emphasizing that FEMA’s aid would accelerate recovery.
Local community centers have become essential for residents, offering hot meals, air conditioning, and phone charging facilities. Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit targets NIPSCO, accusing the company of not adequately trimming vegetation around power lines, leading to the outages. NIPSCO disputes these claims, stating its investment in vegetation management has more than doubled since 2016.
In response to the crisis, Gary’s Mayor, Eddie Milton, mentioned plans to review the city’s emergency management strategies. He also emphasized the need for increased accountability from the utility companies.
Workers from True Cut Tree Care in Farmington, Michigan, are actively collaborating in cleanup efforts, removing toppled trees and debris from affected areas.
The ongoing situation highlights significant challenges for the community as it navigates recovery from this severe weather event.