Thousands remain without power in Gary, Indiana, nearly two weeks after severe storms

(NBC)- Thousands of residents in northwest Indiana remain without power nearly two weeks after devastating storms and tornadoes tore through the state.

In Gary, some residents have now spent 13 days without electricity, leaving families unable to refrigerate food, cool their homes or operate crucial medical equipment.

Seventy-three-year-old Joetta Walker, a lifelong Gary resident, said she has lost more than $700 worth of food and has relied on family members to bring her supplies.

Walker said she is also unable to use a breathing machine she needs at night.

“It’s making it very difficult for me to rest at night because the whole thing is you don’t get enough oxygen,” Walker said.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is now calling for an investigation into utility company NIPSCO, raising questions about the company’s preparation for and response to the severe weather.

NIPSCO said crews are working around the clock to repair and rebuild infrastructure damaged by what it described as a historic storm.

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called the prolonged outage unacceptable and raised concerns that predominantly Black and Brown communities can be overlooked following disasters.

As of Monday afternoon, nearly 10,000 NIPSCO customers across northwest Indiana remained without power.

For some families, electricity is finally being restored. Gary resident Channie Weaber said the lights recently came back on for her and her two granddaughters, but she remains frustrated by how long restoration took.

“I feel like we still came last,” Weaber said. “I feel like we at the bottom before everybody else.”