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Economy
Gary Indiana Struggles to Restore Power from 11 Aug storm
2026-08-24
[CBSnews] Like so many in Gary, Indiana, Shatiya Hardin has been waiting for the minute her power finally turns back on.

"It's been absolutely horrible," Hardin told CBS News. "At night we're sweating, we're irritable, we have children to look out for, elderly people who need electricity for oxygen tanks."

Beginning Aug. 11, several days of powerful storms walloped northwest Indiana, killing at least seven people and displacing about 1,000. The storms brought record rainfall that flooded several communities.

In Gary, the storm knocked out electricity for more than half of the city's residents, where about one in three people lives in poverty, according to U.S. Census data.

A class-action lawsuit was filed this week against NIPSCO, alleging the company failed to proactively trim back vegetation from power lines. The lawsuit alleges that downed trees and vegetation were the primary causes of the power outages.

NIPSCO disputes the claim, saying its "vegetation management spend has more than doubled since 2016."
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The storm on 11 Aug had winds up to 95 mph. Trees with full foliage are very vulnerable in such cases. However, a lot of the damage was to relay stations and transmission connections with no tree impacts. As of today, about 300k residents have power restored. About 10k still without.
Posted by:Lord Garth

#2  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Frank G   2026-08-24 18:28  

#1  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Procopius2k   2026-08-24 17:03  

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