Gary, Indiana, Residents Rally Together as Power Outages Stretch Past Two Weeks
Gary, Indiana, residents face a 13-day power outage, prompting a community relief event with food, water, and supplies.
Thirteen days after severe storms knocked out electricity across Gary, Indiana, hundreds of residents gathered for a community relief event on Monday, as many homes and businesses remained without power.
The August 11 storms left more than 38,300 homes and businesses in the city in the dark. While Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said it expects full restoration by Tuesday, many residents have spent nearly two weeks without electricity, coping with spoiled food, extreme heat, and health challenges.
For 50-year-old Kimya Williams, the prolonged outage brought back painful memories. A Hurricane Katrina survivor, she said the darkness and uncertainty felt all too familiar. She eventually left Gary to stay with her children in Indianapolis, finding the situation too triggering.
Despite the hardship, the community has rallied. A large relief event, organized with the City of Gary, The Salvation Army, and Ace Hardware, featured local businesses and organizations giving away water, hot dogs, ice cream, adult diapers, and other essential supplies. A DJ played music, and residents danced, finding moments of joy amid the struggle.
Shannon Hubbard, a resident still without power, described the difficulty of managing her six-year-old son's seizures without a working refrigerator for medication. She praised the community's perseverance, saying everyone is working together to make sure everyone is all right.
City workers were also seen cutting up large damaged trees, as the cleanup effort continues alongside the relief distribution.