Majority-Black city is still waiting for power after deadly storms

Storm damage is seen in a Gary neighborhood after severe weather brought widespread outages to northwest Indiana. Screenshot: City of Gary/YouTube

Why is Gary still in the dark? | ABNN NewsbreakJamie Jackson, Correspondent

2:06

GARY, Ind. (ABNN) - Videos and posts on social media have raised the same question from Gary residents: Why is power restoration taking so long in a majority-Black city hit hard by deadly storms?

Storms that began Aug. 11 killed at least seven people in Indiana and left thousands across northwest Indiana without power for days.

Aerial video shows fallen trees and storm damage in Gary after severe weather knocked out power across parts of northwest Indiana. Screenshot: City of Gary/YouTube

Gary is a majority-Black city. Black residents make up 76.2% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That is part of why the outage has become more than an inconvenience for many residents. It has become a question of communication, urgency and whether the city is getting the attention it deserves.

"The city of Gary is working nonstop to respond to this storm," Mayor Eddie Melton said during a press conference Wednesday.

"Our first responders, our city department heads, our contractors, our community partners across the board, helping to clear roads, address so many other debris issues, helping folks leave their home in dangerous situations, truly life-saving situations have occurred during this time. We have made progress in the recovery. I want to make sure folks know that," he said.

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton speaks during a press conference on storm recovery and power restoration. Screenshot: City of Gary/YouTube

Melton said a Facebook post from Northern Indiana Public Service Co., or NIPSCO, added to the frustration because it did not include Gary in an update on estimated restoration times.

"A recent Facebook post to notify the public of estimated restoration times that was posted by NIPSCO did not include the city of Gary in that description," Melton said. "Gary was not included in that update and understandably we understand that that caused a lot of frustration and a lot of questions among residents."

NIPSCO later included Gary in its restoration estimates. The utility said Wednesday night that power in Gary could be restored by 11:59 p.m. CT Tuesday, Aug. 25.

That means some residents could be without power for nearly two weeks.

The outages have left families trying to protect food, medicine and basic comfort while waiting for crews to repair the grid. For residents who rely on refrigerated medication, medical equipment, air conditioning or fixed incomes, the delay is not just frustrating. It can be dangerous.

NIPSCO says the storm caused unprecedented and widespread damage across its electric system.

"We know that this storm caused unprecedented and widespread damage across our electric system, resulting in extensive outages, broken poles, downed wires, damaged equipment and thousands of individual repairs that must be completed before service can be fully restored. And that is our end goal - fully restoring service to impacted communities and customers," the utility said in a statement.

The Associated Press reported that more than 20,000 customers in Gary were still without power Wednesday afternoon. NIPSCO said about 300 utility poles and 44 transmission poles in Gary needed to be repaired or replaced after the storm brought winds up to 99 mph.

NIPSCO has denied claims that race or income are driving restoration decisions. The utility has said outages are based on the severity and location of storm damage.

But for many Gary residents, the concern is not only about why the power went out.

It is about why a city that is overwhelmingly Black was left out of a public restoration update.

It is about how long families are being asked to wait.

And it is about whether the people still in the dark are being heard clearly enough by the institutions responsible for getting the lights back on.

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