Frustration mounts for thousands still without power after deadly Indiana storms
Thousands of residents in Gary, Indiana, remain without power following severe storms that caused widespread damage and fatalities. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the utility provider, NIPSCO, alleging negligence in vegetation management.
Why it matters
The situation highlights the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to extreme weather and the resulting legal and social tensions between residents and utility companies.
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. "It's not OK for us to continually be in survival mode," said Hardin. "We don't have service in this area at all whatsoever.
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