Cedar Lake woman dies after storm knocks tree down onto house
A Cedar Lake woman died late Monday night after high winds in heavy storms brought a tree down on her house, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
The storm was one of several to roll through the Midwest and greater Chicago area Monday night, leaving tens of thousands of people without power and surveying storm damage Tuesday.
Laura Nagel, 44, of the 8900 block of West 141st Lane in Cedar Lake, died when the tree fell. The coroner’s office was called to the scene at 10:19 p.m., as tornado sirens blared across the region.
The Cedar Lake Police Department, Cedar Lake Fire Department, Hanover Township Fire Department and Cedar Lake Street Department assisted at the scene.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, NIPSCO reported around 99,000 customers were without power. The most impacted communities include Chesterton, Crown Point, East Chicago, Gary, Goshen, Griffith, Hammond, La Porte, Portage and Valparaiso.
Severe storms overnight brought extremely high winds, rain and tornadic activity across the region, causing elevated electric power outages in the service area. Damage includes downed wires and tree limbs and broken poles, Northern Indiana Public Service Company officials said on their website.
All available NIPSCO crews are working to assess the damage, make the necessary repairs and restore power as safely and quickly as possible. Due to the extent of the damage, an estimate of when power will be restored is not able to be determined at this time.
Additionally, the Purdue University Northwest Hammond Campus reported that all classes and work on Tuesday would be remote because of the power outages. Employees should contact their supervisors with questions. All campus activities are canceled.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
