GARY, Indiana—Over two weeks after a severe storm called a “derecho” struck parts of Northwest Indiana bringing hurricane with fierce winds and rain. Thousands of residents in Gary, Merrillville, Hammond, Griffith, Portage, Schererville, and other areas are still grappling with widespread power outages.
At Final Call presstime NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Company), the energy company based in Merrillville, Indiana, that provides natural gas and electricity to more than 1.3 million customers across 30 counties in northern Indiana, posted on its Facebook page that as of Aug. 21, there were still over 41,000 customers without power.
When the Aug. 11 storm struck, bringing with it, winds that reached nearly 100 mph, comparable to a Category 2 hurricane according to the National Weather Service, it knocked out power to nearly 375,000 customers.
NIPSCO reported this storm as historical for their power company
On August 11, Northwest Indiana experienced a torrential storm known as a derecho with wind speeds reaching 99 mph, comparable to a Category 2 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service.
Gary, Indiana, is 75% Black and was one of the hardest hit areas during the storm. “The storm severely damaged electrical poles and transmission lines, requiring extensive rebuilding of local infrastructure. Complete power restoration estimated date is August 25,” stated Melody Birmingham, president of NiSource. NiSource is the parent company of NIPSCO.
The widespread outages, while impacting several areas, has been the hardship facing Gary that has gained widespread attention, particularly on social media.
While workers are repairing damages or working to replace main feeder lines, utility poles, primary wires, switches, transformers, and other equipment, other crews are hauling away debris. The hardship and stress is taking its toll on residents.
Courtney Page-Tan, an Indiana University Indianapolis professor who studies community resilience, said health concerns grow each day of a prolonged outage, reported Associated Press. “With many people using generators, poor ventilation can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
In addition, those reliant on medical devices risk having them lose their charge, while refrigerated food once safe to eat could pose health risks as it spoils,” Prof. Page-Tan said, according to AP.
Shatiya Hardin, a hair stylist in Gary for 25 years, has been unable to open her salon since the storm. She said residents in her lower-income neighborhood initially took the outages in stride. But now patience is wearing thin, noted AP.
“We’re always in survival mode in Gary. And I think that’s probably why it wasn’t so much of an uproar because the first few days, it was like, ‘OK, we’re used to this … but this is the second week now,’” Ms. Hardin said. “It’s not OK for us to continually be in survival mode, doing the best that we can,” she said.
Gary residents also took to social media to alert the world to what is taking place in their city. For many, food had to be thrown away due to spoilage.
severe storm that struck Gary and
other parts of Northwest Indiana. Photo:
Shawntell Muhammad
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton spoke to the conditions facing his city on the Breakfast Club on Aug. 20. “Residents should contact their homeowners or renters insurance providers to ask if spoiled food, temporary lodging or other losses are covered under their policies. Take photos and videos of damaged property, save receipts for emergency purchases, and keep track of the dates and length of the outage,“ he said.
Mayor Melton said in an Instagram update, “The main thing I’m doing right now is demanding that NIPSCO give specific and accurate information regarding this outage.”
Sabir Omar-Muhammad is the Nation of Islam’s Gary Assistant Study Group Coordinator. He was among many impacted by the storm. “On a personal level, the derecho on August 11 with wind gusts of 99-plus, miles per hour, uprooted a huge tree in my backyard.
In doing so, it took out part of the privacy fence, partially landed on the garage/patio roof and is resting on the power line going to the house,” he told The Final Call
“Insha’Allah (God-Willing) it hasn’t damaged the line which would delay restoring power. Across the city there was an unprecedented number of trees totaling uprooted, damaging power lines and utility poles and blocking several streets. Thankfully, the city administration mobilized its resources and had most of the trees blocking main streets removed,” he said.
Alva Muhammad is a disaster preparedness instructor and lives in Gary. She told The Final Call what she observed when the storm struck on Aug. 11.
“I had the television on as I was working and the news were talking about a big storm that was heading our way. However, when I looked outside, there was absolutely no movement in the trees. There was no air circulating, it was unusually calm, and I knew that was unusual.
I kept watching and it went from no movement to everything moving. I am used to extreme weather, but this was the first time I grabbed our to-go bags and told my husband we needed to get in the basement.”
Residents, community groups, houses of worship and celebrities are working with one another and with local government to assist those in need. Locations for people to get food, toiletries and other supplies, charge their cell phones, cool off or get information on what resources are available have been shared extensively on social media.
Pastor Valerie Clarke of the Gospel Truth Apostolic Ministry has been holding food distribution outside of her church. Residents can drive up and Pastor Valerie loads each car with a food box.
“We have been distributing food for over 15 years, and since this storm hit, there has been a significant increase in people that are in need. The devastation is horrendous and the hearts of the people is saddened, but yet they are so thankful for everything that we do,” she said.
Rebecca Raspberry, owner of Vibrations, Health, Wellness, Juice Bar & Cafe, stated, “The storm was life changing to say the least, not to mention the loss of items in my establishment, and an inability to serve the community because the power is out. I feel like this experience has made us slow down and pay attention to what is around us,” she said.
NIPSCO has come under fire for allegations of not doing enough to make sure power lines are free from trees and debris and keeping its equipment up to standard.
The Allen Law Group announced on August 21, a class action lawsuit against NIPSCO.
“In an amended class action complaint filed August 17, in Porter Superior Court 1, lead plaintiff Jack Tipold and 15 co-plaintiffs say that NIPSCO’s systemic and negligent vegetation mismanagement directly caused widespread, prolonged power failures across Northwest Indiana.
The suit seeks to hold the Merrillville-headquartered utility accountable for personal injuries, emotional distress, and financial losses suffered by residents going back to August 17, 2024,” reported 93.1 FMWIBC, an Indianapolis news outlet.
“This situation was predictable, it was obvious, and it was preventable,” Attorney Otto J. Shragal, representing the plaintiffs, said at an Aug. 21 news conference.
“Downed trees and vegetation are the leading cause of power outages, and that NIPSCO has failed to proactively trim trees on a five to seven year cycle, despite knowing some tree species can grow back into power lines within five years.
Instead, the company simply reacts to outages after they occur rather than preventing them.” Final Call staff contributed to this report. (Shawntell Muhammad can be contacted at [email protected].)
