Thousands in northwest Indiana still without power nearly two weeks after storm

National Thousands in northwest Indiana still without power nearly two weeks after storm August 23, 202612:55 PM ET By  Chandelis Duster Workers from True Cut Tree Care of Farmington, Michigan remove a tree from the front of a home after it was toppled during a recent storm on Aug. 20, 2026 in Gary, Indiana. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images More than 20,000 people are still without power in northwest Indiana after severe storms rolled through the area nearly two weeks ago. A bout of severe weather, including wind gusts up to 100 mph, heavily affected the region on Aug. 11. Homes in Gary, Portage, Lake Station and Munster still lacked electricity as of Sunday morning, according to NIPSCO, the local power company. In Gary, Mayor Eddie Melton said at least 17,000 citizens remained without power Saturday. NIPSCO officials have estimated electricity will be restored to Gary by the end of day on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Sponsor Message National 'Survival mode': Indiana residents endure a ninth day without power Frustration among residents is high, as many seek aid at shelters and receive food from distribution centers. The city's schools remain closed. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has activated the National Guard to assist with restoration efforts, while President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for the state. This allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with recovery efforts from the storm. Gov. Braun on Saturday also demanded NIPSCO hurry to restore power. "Bring in more crews. Put every available resource into the field. Get creative. Get the job done. Hoosiers have waited long enough," Braun wrote on social media. The start of the prolonged outage coincided with an announcement by the local power company's parent, NiSource Inc., that it would be paying out around $140 million in dividends to its shareholders. Melody Birmingham, executive vice president of NIPSCO's parent company NiSource and president...