In Gary, Indiana, schools remained closed following the August 11 storm that toppled trees and power lines. Residents turned to social media to find open laundromats and working Wi-Fi, while others sought food, diapers, and cleaning wipes for low-income neighbors.

Meanwhile, heavy rains in central Ohio triggered flash flooding that covered roadways Thursday morning in Columbus, the state capital, where emergency crews rescued motorists from stranded vehicles and saved a 12-year-old boy who was swept from a bridge.

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. reported 68,000 customers remained without power as of Thursday morning, most of them in Lake County, along the Illinois border. The utility said it has restored service to another 306,500 customers since August 11. But full restoration is not expected until Tuesday in some locations, including Gary.

Courtney Page-Tan, a professor at Indiana University Indianapolis who studies community resilience, noted that health concerns increase each day during a prolonged outage. As many people use generators, poor ventilation can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Additionally, those who rely on medical devices risk losing charge, while previously safe refrigerated foods can pose health risks as they spoil.

"Nine days is a long time for a community to be without electricity," she stated.

Residents are exhausted after multiple days without power

Shatiya Hardin, a 25-year hairstylist in Gary, has been unable to open her salon since the storm. She said residents of her lower-income neighborhood initially took the blackouts in stride. But patience is now running thin.

"We're always in survival mode in Gary. And I think that's probably why there wasn't so much of an uproar, because the first few days it was like, 'Well, we're used to this...' But now it's the second week," she noted. "It's not okay that we're continuously in survival mode, doing the best we can."

More than a week after the initial storm, many East Chicago, Indiana, residents who lost power had it restored, only to lose it again. Kevin Mejia, who runs a community Facebook page, was in that situation on Thursday.

"If I make a post, I get 500 comments," said Mejia, 30. "A lot of people have reached out to me about food issues: 'Hey, I threw out hundreds of dollars in groceries.' Elderly people don't know who to turn to."

He has been sleeping on the floor because his mattress is too warm. Without electricity, his window air conditioners are silent.

Raydia Martin, assistant director of the Flourish Community Hub at Flourish Church in Gary, said the "silver lining" has been the response from volunteers and community groups.

"Human beings thrive best on, you know, certainty and predictability," she expressed. "So when something so devastating happens so quickly, it definitely affects people mentally. Just not knowing what comes next, where the next meal is going to come from, and when this is all going to end. We need to see a light at the end of the tunnel."

NIPSCO has called the destruction "unprecedented and widespread," and said crews from across the country have arrived to help repair downed cables, broken poles, and damaged equipment.

Illinois, which receives service from another company, recovered more quickly from the same storm, but Melody Birmingham, an executive at NIPSCO's parent company, explained that that part of Illinois had fewer trees and different infrastructure, including some power lines that may have been buried.

"No storm is the same," she maintained. "No service territory is the same."

Schools across northwestern Indiana remain closed

The power outages have also disrupted the start of the school year for thousands of children.

Gary Community School Corporation, with roughly 4,300 students, began its academic year in early August but has been closed since August 13 and will remain so at least through Friday, officials said.

Portage Township Schools had to cancel its planned August 12 start due to the storm and now plans to begin the school year on August 25. Officials said this week there are "safety concerns from downed trees on several properties and damage that must be repaired."

Page-Tan said school closures can have significant consequences for vulnerable families.

"For many households living paycheck to paycheck, missing work because they can't find child care can be detrimental to a family's stability," she explained.

Flash flooding brings new problems in central Ohio

About 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Gary, heavy rain severely affected Columbus, Ohio, with more than 3 inches (7 centimeters) of rain in 12 hours, reported Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.

Two women who were walking and became trapped in a flooded creek were rescued, said Lieutenant Nick Davis of the Fire Division. He also reported that first responders saved the life of a 12-year-old bicyclist who was swept from a bridge by the surge.

The city was still conducting cleanup from severe weekend thunderstorms when the intense rains hit midweek.

"We have been with all available resources supporting residents since last week," Ginther declared Thursday morning at a press conference. "We are going to focus on recovery, even with this unexpected twist from Mother Nature."