Gary Mayor Eddie Melton reacts as parts of Indiana remain in the dark after storm
Thousands of residents in Gary, Indiana, are waiting for their lights to come back on, two weeks after powerful storms slammed into their city. Mayor Eddie Melton speaks out on the city's efforts to restore power and improve conditions.
In Gary, Indiana, residents are still grappling with the aftermath of a storm that struck on August 11, leaving over 38,000 homes and businesses without power. The city, one of the poorest and most predominantly Black in America, is still feeling the impact more than two weeks later. Kimya Williams, a 50-year-old resident, compared her experience to that of New Orleans residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
She initially decided to stay put but eventually left for Indianapolis to escape the darkness and distress. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called the restoration process "unacceptable," stating that 12 days is too long for families to be without power and for businesses to suffer losses. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., the area's electricity provider, reported that over 370,000 customers had lost power, with more than 364,000 having their service restored.
The remaining customers are expected to have power restored by Tuesday. Despite the progress, roughly 34,000 customers in Memphis, another majority Black city, remain without power as of late Monday, representing less than 8% of the utility's customer base.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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