Workers from True Cut Tree Care of Farmington, Michigan remove a tree from the front of a home after it was toppled during a recent storm on Aug. 20, 2026 in Gary, Indiana.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images
More than 20,000 residents in northwest Indiana remain without electricity nearly two weeks after severe storms swept through the area.
On August 11, the region was hit hard by severe weather, including wind gusts reaching up to 100 mph.
As of Sunday morning, homes in Gary, Portage, Lake Station, and Munster were still without power, according to NIPSCO, the local utility provider. In Gary, Mayor Eddie Melton reported that at least 17,000 residents were still in the dark on Saturday. NIPSCO anticipates that power will be restored in Gary by the end of Tuesday, August 25.
Amid mounting frustration, many residents are seeking aid at shelters and receiving food from distribution centers, while schools in the city remain closed.
Governor Mike Braun of Indiana has called in the National Guard to aid in restoration efforts, and President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for the state, enabling the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in recovery operations.
On Saturday, Governor Braun urged NIPSCO to expedite the power restoration process, stating on social media, “Bring in more crews. Put every available resource into the field. Get creative. Get the job done. Hoosiers have waited long enough.”
The extended power outage coincided with an announcement by NiSource Inc., NIPSCO’s parent company, about a $140 million dividend payout to shareholders.
Melody Birmingham, executive vice president of NiSource and president of its utilities division, described the storm damage as one of the most extensive and complex situations their crews have faced. “When I say complex, these aren’t simple repairs. These are systems that are being rebuilt,” Birmingham explained. “These are lines that ordinarily take us—and systems that ordinarily take weeks or months, that we are trying to accomplish in days and or weeks.”
The slow response from the company has drawn criticism from civil rights leaders and advocacy groups, who have raised concerns about systemic inequity, noting that nearly 80% of Gary’s population is Black.
Bernice King, a civil rights leader and daughter of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., commented last week that the power outage in Gary is “part of a pattern” and that residents “deserve more than survival.” She expressed on social media, “Black communities have too often been expected to endure conditions that would be treated as intolerable somewhere else. We are expected to survive the neglect, absorb the loss, help ourselves, and wait for urgency to arrive.”
The Indiana branch of the ACLU also emphasized the need for equitable disaster relief. “It’s important that, when a disaster happens, the relief reaches every community quickly and equitably,” the group stated on social media Saturday.
