A two-week power outage in Gary, Indiana, has underscored how vulnerable businesses and residents can become when severe weather collides with aging infrastructure.
Thousands of people in the majority-Black city were left without electricity after a powerful storm swept through Northwest Indiana on Aug. 11. State officials estimated that the storm caused up to $5 billion in damage across Gary and other Indiana communities.
In Gary, which CNN describes as “one of the poorest and blackest cities in America,” more than 38,300 homes and businesses lost power. As a result, grocery stores were forced to close, gas stations ran out of fuel, and residents struggled to access basic services while crews worked to restore the electrical grid
forwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad1">“We’re still in the recovery phase, as we speak,” Melton said.
The outage has also raised questions about the city’s relationship with Northern Indiana Public Service Company, or NIPSCO, the privately owned utility responsible for much of the area’s electricity distribution. Asset management firm Blackstone is a partial owner of NIPSCO’s parent company. Melton, who previously worked for NIPSCO, said he was concerned that Gary was not initially identified separately in the company’s estimated restoration schedule. He said the omission made it difficult for city officials and residents to track the response.
“When we did not see Gary listed in the beginning, it was — it felt as if we were being left behind and overlooked,” Melton said.
The storm has prompted calls for investment in what Melton described as infrastructure “hardening.” He said the utility should examine stronger poles, upgraded transformers, circuitry, and other improvements capable of withstanding increasingly severe storms.
“We’ve never seen wind this strong before,” Melton said. “They need to ensure that the utility grid system is going to sustain that type of wind.”
The city has received a federal natural disaster declaration, with FEMA resources being deployed as recovery continues.
Gary is roughly 80% Black and has experienced decades of economic decline following the loss of industrial jobs. The city once had
more than 175,000 residents in the 1960s, but its population is now below 70,000, with about one-third of residents living below the poverty line. Gary is best known as being the birthplace of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5.RELATED CONTENT: Indiana Family Demands Justice After Mother Of Six Fatally Struck By Stray Bullet