Thousands of residents in Indiana are still struggling without power more than 12 days after severe storms caused widespread outages. The prolonged disruption has led to significant hardship, with some residents describing the situation as "survival mode." A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the utility company, Nipsco, accusing it of failing to manage trees that subsequently brought down power lines during the storms.
Residents have voiced mounting frustration over the extended outage. Shatiya Hardin, a resident of Gary, Indiana, told the BBC's US partner CBS that the situation has been "absolutely horrible." She described nights of heat and irritability, highlighting the challenges for children and elderly individuals requiring electricity for medical equipment like oxygen tanks. "It's not OK for us to continually be in survival mode," Hardin stated.
In Gary, a city where a third of residents live in poverty, the lack of electricity has exacerbated existing challenges. Faith leaders held a press conference on Saturday outside a local church to express alarm and call for resources to be released to affected communities. "We come together today with one voice, asking those who have the power... to release the resources to our brothers and our sisters, our mothers and our fathers, because 12 days is long enough," one leader said, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The class-action lawsuit names Nipsco as the defendant. One plaintiff, Jack Tipold, recounted being forced to abandon dental surgery when the power failed mid-procedure. He stated he was discharged without adequate pain medication after having his teeth removed, describing the experience as a "struggle."
Nipsco has denied any wrongdoing and has stated that it will "vigorously" defend itself in court against the allegations. The company has not provided a timeline for full restoration of power.