People in Munster and Highland, Indiana, could be without power another week after damaging storms

Some people living in northwest Indiana might be waiting another week to have their power restored from last week's storm.

NIPSCO on Tuesday estimated the towns of Highland and Munster will be the last to have their lights back on, with full restoration by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

As of Tuesday afternoon, NIPSCO said there were more than 98,000 customers in northwest Indiana still without power. At the height of last week's storms, approximately 300,000 customers were without power.

With power out for a week already, residents in Munster have had it, and they've been taking matters into their own hands.

They can't turn the power on themselves, but they can clear some of the debris covering their streets, sidewalks, and homes, and help others in the process.

"We cried, we cried, and we cried some more, mainly because no one was expecting this," Kristin Savage said as she showed off the destruction in her back yard in Munster, which is littered with cut up tree trunks and limbs.

"We have about six trees that fell on the house. Insurance company did send someone out to come clean it. However, they just left the trees in the back, because that's literally what they're supposed to do," Savage said.

With some trees remaining that NIPSCO is responsible for removing, no NIPSCO crews in sight, she found hope in strangers.

"It was just like a shot in the dark. Like, people will help or they won't," she said. "The only thing you can do at this point is ask for help."

Savage met neighbor Stephanie Orr on Tuesday, after posting on a neighborhood Facebook page asking for help. Orr and many others answered the call.

"What's an hour or two hours of my day to help other people? And I would want that in return. So, it's kind of like, treat others how you want to be treated," Orr said.

Orr doesn't have power in her own home either. She said Tuesday was the first time she's seen any electric company crews since last week's storms.

"I don't even think it's NIPSCO that's on our street. It's a different power company," she said.

In Munster, a few trucks from PraXel Line Services, a Kentucky-based electrical contractor, were stepping in to help.

But nothing compared to the show of force visible in Savage's yard.

"This was a traumatic experience," Orr said.

"It is, and you're just like, how do you help? What do you do?" Savage said.

NIPSCO said they did not have anyone available for an interview on Tuesday to answer questions from CBS News Chicago. They insisted they're working to restore power to everyone as soon as possible. They also said not everyone in Munster and Highland will have to wait until next Tuesday to get power back.

"The Tuesday restoration estimate is a global estimate for the remaining customers affected by the most significant damage. It is not an indication that every customer in Highland, Munster, or other impacted communities will be without power until that time. We fully expect customers to continue coming back on throughout the restoration process. Our goal is always to restore service sooner whenever possible," NIPSCO said in a statement.

NIPSCO said they're not just restoring power, but rebuilding parts of the whole system, which is why they expect repairs to take so long.