"Left Behind and Overlooked": Indiana Energy Company Left Majority-Black Gary Powerless for Weeks

Thousands of residents recently spent two weeks without power in Gary, Indiana, following a storm that ripped through the majority-Black city. The blackout ground the city to a halt, trapping residents in their apartments, forcing the closure of many businesses and leading to fuel shortages at gas stations. Officials in Indiana estimate the storm might have caused up to $5 billion in damage in Gary and other communities.

We're still in the recovery phase, as we speak," says Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, who underscores that hardening the infrastructure" should be a priority for the NIPSCO utility company. We've never seen wind this strong before. ... They need to ensure that the utility grid system is going to sustain that type of wind."