Recovery efforts continue in Northwest Indiana after last week's severe storms.
The National Weather Service confirmed the storms produced two tornadoes in the towns of St. John and Munster on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Cleanup and utility crews continue to pick up debris — mainly toppled trees. Heavy winds that led to trees collapsing on and downing powerlines caused widespread outages in the area.
According to utility company NIPSCO more than 300,000 customers lost power, making it the largest outage in the company's history.
On Monday the company estimated 75,000 residents across Northwest Indiana remained without electricity. The company anticipates power to be fully restored in the area by Friday afternoon.
Monday afternoon in East Chicago, residents lined-up outside the North Township Trustees' Office to request food assistance.
Seretha Bradford is a retiree living on a fixed income. She said the storm was a setback, and any assistance helps.
"I'm hoping it'll be enough to get some cleaning supplies," Bradford said, "And replace some of the meat that I lost."
Bradford said the storm also made her rethink what it means to be prepared for severe weather.
She said that includes prioritizing a generator.
"It's been frustrating because you finally realize how we're tied to the internet and tied to electricity, and we don't know how to survive without it, you know," Bradford said.
Bradford said while she has power, her daughter in Portage and grandson in Griffith said they do not.
In St. John, Susan Roberts said she and her husband Mike have been taking steps to make sure they're prepared for extreme weather. She said they purchased a generator a few years ago and are making sure it's maintained.
"Ever since COVID, I've made sure to be ready somehow for any emergency," Susan said, "The best thing you can do is be prepared."
President Donald Trump approved a Presidential Emergency Declaration for Indiana following a call with Gov. Mike Braun Saturday afternoon.
Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Barb Anguiano at banguiano@wfyi.org
