Thousands in Predominantly Black Gary Remain Without Power Nearly Two Weeks After Storms
Nearly two weeks after powerful storms swept through northern Indiana, thousands of Gary residents were still waiting for electricity to return, forcing some families to cope with dangerous heat, spoiled food and worsening medical problems.
The Aug. 11 storms caused widespread damage across the region, but Gary — a predominantly Black city on the southern shore of Lake Michigan — has faced some of the longest-lasting outages.
As of Monday, more than 8,600 customers remained without electricity, with most of those outages concentrated in Gary, according to Northern Indiana Public Service Co., or NIPSCO.
For 73-year-old Joetta Walker, the outage has become a health issue. Walker has asthma and normally relies on an electric nebulizer for breathing treatments. Without power, she has been forced to depend on an inhaler.
“I have a nebulizer where I need to take breathing treatments,” Walker said. “I can’t do that without the electricity.”
Walker said the inhaler does not provide the same relief, particularly as temperatures inside her home climb.
“I wheeze,” she said. “You hear it now because I get too hot.”
Gary Mayor Calls Restoration Pace ‘Unacceptable’
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton publicly criticized the length of the outages Sunday, saying residents had waited far too long for electricity to return.
“Twelve days is too long for families to be without power,” Melton said. “I have made it clear the current pace of restoration is unacceptable.”
Melton said he spoke directly with President Donald Trump and requested federal assistance to help the city recover.
‘This is far too long’: Gary, Indiana mayor on power outages two weeks after storms. CNN
The mayor said he asked Trump to take executive action and provide resources that could help Gary return to normal operations. According to Melton, Trump said he would do what he could to help.
Melton also met with Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and expressed hope that all power could be restored by Tuesday.
NIPSCO said Monday that crews were working to safely restore electricity throughout every affected community. The utility, which provides natural gas and electricity to more than 1.3 million customers across northern Indiana, also said it expected Gary customers to have power restored by Tuesday.
Some Residents Question Whether Race Played a Role
As residents watched surrounding communities regain electricity sooner, some began questioning why Gary appeared to be near the end of the restoration process.
Several residents said they wondered whether the city’s racial makeup played a role.
“I feel like we at the bottom before everybody else,” Weaver said.
Gary is approximately 78% Black, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
The lengthy outage has intensified frustrations in a city where residents say the effects have gone well beyond inconvenience. For elderly residents requiring powered medical equipment, families losing hundreds of dollars in food and parents trying to keep children safe in overheated homes, each additional day without electricity has carried a growing cost.
NIPSCO has said restoration work remains focused on safely reconnecting every affected customer.
