Faith leaders call on state of Indiana to send aid to Gary during dayslong blackout
The Rev. R.E. Robinson speaks at a press conference to urge state officials to step up their response to an 11-day power outage in Gary.
As thousands of northwestern Indiana residents remain without electricity nearly two weeks after a violent Aug. 11 storm, officials have taken to social media voicing frustration over the lengthy restoration delays.
Roughly 9,000 customers in Gary, Indiana, remained without electricity on Aug. 23, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said in a video posted to the city’s Facebook.
“We’re at Day 12 and 12 days is too long for families to be without power,” Melton said. “Twelve days is too long for parents to worry about their children and for businesses to lose revenue and for families to wonder when the relief is finally going to come. I want you to know I share that frustration.”
The violent storm with high winds of 70 mph to more than 100 mph swept across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on Aug. 11, knocking down many trees and damaging homes and power lines.
Gary resident Desmond Poppy said in a Reuters video interview published on Aug. 22 that his community is “really under siege.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun voiced similar concerns to Melton in an Aug. 23 X post.
The Indiana National Guard and teams from other state agencies have been mobilized “to literally clear the way for NIPSCO utility crews,” Braun posted after declaring a statewide emergency on Aug. 13. “There is no excuse for these delays.”
Utility company: ‘No outage is being overlooked’
The area’s electrical provider, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, reported on Aug. 23 that 16,476 customer accounts remained without electricity as of 4 p.m. CT.
“We have engaged additional contractor crews throughout our service territory and continue to bring in support from neighboring utilities and mutual assistance partners from across the country,” the company stated. “No outage is being overlooked, and no customer will be left behind as we continue this restoration effort.”
The company stated it intended to have power broadly restored to Munster, Indiana, by midnight on Aug. 24 and to Gary and Portage by midnight on Aug. 25.
The estimates “should not be interpreted as the exact restoration time for an individual home or business,” the company stated. It could take longer to restore electricity to individual homes or businesses based on the extent of localized damage, the company added.
At its highest point, 374,500 outages were reported after Aug. 11, the company said.
Melton said he made it “very clear” to the utility provider that the pace of restoration is unacceptable for the thousands of residents who remain in the dark.
Resident Denise Bairns, who also spoke in the Reuters video, said she had been told electricity may not be restored at her home until Sept. 12.
“That is too long to be without power,” Bairns said. “I don’t know, all we can do is pray that we get it on.”
What kind of storm hit northern Indiana and Illinois on Aug. 11?
The National Weather Service preliminarily identified the storm as a derecho, but said the analysis won’t be final until sometime in 2027. Derechos are sometimes referred to as “inland hurricanes,” and they most often occur from May to August.
Derechos are fast-moving bands of thunderstorms with powerful, destructive winds that follow straight lines, unlike the winds in tornadoes and hurricanes. To ultimately qualify as a derecho, post-storm analysis in the northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana counties affected must find that the storms had sustained winds of at least 58 mph and left a path of damage at least 250 miles long, according to the weather service.
In addition to the straight-line winds, multiple tornadoes were confirmed, including two that crossed into Lake County from Illinois.
Contributing: Reuters
Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about violent weather, climate change and other news. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com.