Nearly 2 Weeks After Indiana Storms, Power Is Still Out

Nearly two weeks after intense storms, including hurricane-force winds, tore through northwest Indiana, tens of thousands of people are still in the dark, NPR reports. More than 20,000 customers in cities including Gary, Portage, Lake Station, and Munster remained without electricity as of Sunday, with local power company NIPSCO estimating power in Gary won't be fully back until Tuesday. Gary's schools are closed, shelters and food distribution sites are busy, and residents' patience is wearing thin.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has activated the National Guard, while President Trump approved an emergency declaration to free up FEMA assistance. Braun publicly pushed NIPSCO to speed up repairs; coincidentally, its parent company, NiSource, just announced roughly $140 million in shareholder dividends. "NIPSCO has ample resources to get the job done in Northwest Indiana, but they continue to fail Hoosiers," Braun said on social media, per USA Today. Company executives say the storm caused unusually complex damage, while civil rights leaders and the ACLU argue the slow response underscores longstanding inequities in the majority-Black city of Gary.

"It's been terrible," one resident tells the New York Times, describing a refrigerator full of rotting food that had to be thrown away. The manager of a local grocery store says that while he can file an insurance claim for food that has to be thrown out, customers on food stamps may not have the same options available to them. "They were already struggling, and for them to lose an entire month of food is a big thing."