Army veteran still waiting for power to be restored 3 weeks after Northwest Indiana storms

Nearly three weeks after a powerful storm tore through Northwest Indiana, recovery efforts are far from over.

On Monday, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency took an up-close look at the damage in Gary, and met with people who are still waiting to get power back on.

The storm brought destructive winds of up to 99 mph to the area and left tens of thousands of people in Gary without power.

While much of the power has been restored across Northwest Indiana, some residents are still dealing with serious damage.

"I heard the storm coming and I said to myself, 'This sounds like a serious one,'" said Army veteran and 35-year Gary resident Belford Wilkerson.

Nearly three weeks after the storm, Wilkerson is still waiting for the lights to come back on in his house.

"Right now, it's just hurry up and wait," he said.

Wilkerson, 84, said five massive trees came down on his property, trapping him inside and damaging the connection from his house to the power lines.

"I'm an old soldier, you know. You can take so much, but come on. After three weeks, enough is enough," he said.

The latest reports from NIPSCO show 99% of Northwest Indiana has power back since the Aug. 11 storm. Wilkerson is among nearly 150 homes and businesses still without power as of Monday.

Wilkerson got a call from NIPSCO on Monday, telling him there was nothing more he could do but wait; another promise for the power to get back on as soon as possible.

"We've never this kind of an event in 100 years," Braun said.

Now the focus is on what happens next. Braun's disaster declaration for 21 counties was approved by FEMA last week, and Braun has ordered an investigation into NIPSCO to see why the power outages have lasted so long.

"Are they giving rate payers good value? Well, we've got four others in our own state to compare it to. We have a system of [rural electric membership cooperatives] as well. We will be getting to the bottom of it," Braun said.

Despite FEMA's approval of federal disaster assistance for Indiana, questions remain about how quickly financial help can reach people who need it.

Gary was among the communities hit hardest by the storm.

"I join the Governor in urging NIPSCO and having that investigation to find out what went wrong," Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said.

Braun said, because of his relationship with the federal government and expedited ground assessments, they were able to get financial aid to people fast.

There are also FEMA registration centers opening in Gary this week, giving residents another opportunity to get face-to-face assistance.

Braun and FEMA officials also assessed storm damage in Central Indiana on Monday, following record-setting flooding along the White River, in part from the same storm system that caused widespread wind damage in Northwest Indiana.