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Ninth Day Without Power
Tens of thousands of residents in northwest Indiana were in survival mode Thursday as they endured a ninth day without power after the Aug. 11 storm downed trees and power lines.
“Tens of thousands of residents in northwest Indiana were in survival mode Thursday as they endured a ninth day without power”
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said 68,000 customers were still without power as of Thursday morning, with the majority in Lake County beside the Illinois border, and the utility said it had restored power to 306,500 others since Aug. 11.
In Gary, Indiana, schools remained closed after the storm, and residents turned to social media to find open laundromats and working Wi-Fi while others sought food, diapers, and cleaning wipes for low-income neighbors.
Courtney Page-Tan, an Indiana University Indianapolis professor who studies community resilience, said health concerns grow each day of a prolonged outage, warning that generators and poor ventilation can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Heavy rains in central Ohio brought flash flooding that covered roadways Thursday morning in Columbus, where emergency crews rescued motorists from stranded cars and saved a 12-year-old boy who was swept off a bridge.
Schererville Setback, Frustration
In Schererville, officials said electrical wires were down Thursday near US 41 and Main Street, causing power outages for homes and traffic lights, and NIPSCO confirmed it responded to the downed power lines at the location.
The incident caused additional power outages for about 9,000 customers in the area, and witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from a power pole after hearing a “pretty big boom.”
Residents described the daily impact in blunt terms, with Lottie Boss saying, "You can't cook," and with Kacie Kowalczyk saying, "It was scary. It's like everybody in the store is going, 'Oh no, not again.'"
NIPSCO officials said crews were working around the clock, but a setback occurred Thursday when 9,000 more customers lost power in the Schererville area.
As of Thursday afternoon, the NIPSCO outage map showed Gary and Portage expected to get power restored by Tuesday, but Shay Bolden said, "Like multiple other cities are back up and running."
Recovery, Health, and Schools
NIPSCO’s restoration timeline left many families waiting, and the Chicago Tribune reported that power isn’t expected to be mostly restored in Gary and Portage until next Tuesday, while Munster was not expected until Monday and Hammond and Highland were expected to get power on Saturday.
“Power isn’t expected to be mostly restored in Gary and Portage until next Tuesday”
The Tribune also reported that the outage number jumped Thursday afternoon after electrical wires were observed on the ground near Indianapolis Boulevard and Main Street in Schererville, with traffic signals out at U.S. 30 and 41 as residents rationed gas and searched for updates.
In Gary, the disruption extended into the school year, with the AP reporting that Gary’s school district, with about 4,300 students, started its school year in early August but has been closed since Aug. 13 and will remain closed through at least Friday.
Page-Tan said, "Nine days is a long time for a community to be without power," linking the prolonged outage to risks for people using generators and those relying on medical devices.
The AP said NIPSCO called the destruction "unprecedented and widespread," and reported that crews from around the country arrived to help repair downed wires, broken poles and damaged equipment.
