Daijiworld Media Network – Gary

Gary, Aug 27: Power has been restored to almost all residents of Gary, Indiana, more than two weeks after a powerful storm system knocked out electricity to thousands across the city.

As of Wednesday evening, just over 100 utility customers in the city were still without power, according to Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO). The utility said restoration work related to the August 11 storm and subsequent weather events was substantially complete, with crews continuing to address a limited number of individual outages.

A powerful derecho struck Indiana and other parts of the US Midwest on August 11, bringing straight-line winds of 70 to more than 100 mph. The storm brought down power lines and caused what NIPSCO described as the worst damage in its known history, leaving around 375,000 customers without electricity.

The severe weather also included tornadoes. The National Weather Service reported that an EF2 tornado travelled about 26 miles from Illinois into Indiana, with peak winds estimated at 110 mph. Roofs were damaged and trees were uprooted in affected areas.

The prolonged outages had drawn criticism from local officials and residents, particularly in Gary, a city of about 69,000 people located along Lake Michigan. Mayor Eric Melton had earlier described the pace of restoration as unacceptable.

Some residents reported struggling through the prolonged heat without electricity or air conditioning. Others said the outages affected access to essential medical equipment, while some also reported thefts of generators in their neighbourhoods.

Concerns were also raised over whether Gary's predominantly Black population had contributed to the delayed restoration. NIPSCO's parent company rejected the allegation, saying the distribution of outages was determined by the areas hit hardest by the storms and had nothing to do with race.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun criticised NIPSCO's response and called for an investigation into the utility's handling of the outages. He also said a major disaster declaration had been approved, allowing additional assistance for affected communities.

Seven storm-related deaths were reported across Indiana, including one in Lake County, where Gary is located.

NIPSCO President and CEO Vince Parisi thanked customers for their patience and said the company was now focusing on supporting communities as they continued to recover from the storm damage.