Power outages persist for weeks in Gary, Indiana after August storms

Severe storms that swept Northwest Indiana on Aug. 11 brought winds of up to 99 mph, toppling trees, power lines and traffic signals. The damage left over 300,000 NIPSCO customers without electricity, and as of the latest report, about 83,000 remain in the dark, including roughly 27,000 households in Gary.

Vince Parisi, president and chief operating officer of NIPSCO, told ABC News the event was “unprecedented” and described it as one of the most destructive storms in the utility’s history. He said restoration crews are working in Gary, Hammond and surrounding areas and expressed hope that power would be fully restored by the end of the week.

The outage has disrupted access to cooling, food and water, as many homes rely on electric pumps for well water. Residents have reported increased crime and, on Aug. 15, a NIPSCO restoration vehicle was hit by gunfire, prompting a temporary pause in work while security measures are evaluated.

Local officials said schools in the Gary Community School Corporation will stay closed as the community recovers. Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced $5,000 grants for storm victims, available through 211 or online, and the federal government approved additional assistance through FEMA.

"For me to go through this, this is a lot. I'm in a hot house, burning up, sweating from head to toe," said Gary resident Cynthia Bailey to ABC News.

"They aren’t pausing when they take our money. We’re the first to get cut off when anything happens, NIPSCO," said resident Kenneth Lewis.

NIPSCO reported that power has been restored to more than 282,000 customers in the region, and its president said the company aims to reach 90% restoration by Tuesday and complete the remaining outages by Friday.