Joe Haney reports National Guard and Department of Corrections personnel are assisting with storm recovery in LaPorte County
LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney reported that the National Guard and Department of Corrections are providing significant manpower to assist with storm recovery in LaPorte County. Following catastrophic storms on August 11, the National Guard initially arrived to assess damage, but the state decided to shift resources, moving the National Guard to Lake County while the Department of Corrections and Department of Natural Resources began working from LaPorte County moving west. The storms caused extensive damage, including downed power lines and snapped poles, leaving over 10,000 residents in LaPorte County without power. NIPSCO reported that the storm was one of the largest outage events in company history, with 317,000 outages reported across northwest Indiana. The Salvation Army is also providing extensive relief, distributing food, hydration, and shelter across multiple counties. In Henry County, Envoy Beth Stamper noted that the community is rallying together to provide support for residents who lost significant property to the floods.