South Florida Gas Shortages: Plagues State as Drivers ‘Fight’ at Pumps
On Sunday, a video shared on Twitter by a Florida-based user went viral which shows what seems to be a fight breaking out at a pump in southern Florida, a region that is currently being affected by a significant gas shortage. Continue reading to know the entire story. The Miami-based woman, whose Twitter handle is @TrainLikeDime, wrote that the drivers are really about to fight out here over gas. The video was shared on Sunday where she was seen saying that four people were fighting over who should go next at the pump. The clip shows what looks like three drivers arguing but it’s not clear what exactly they’re discussing. The Twitter user who posted the video said it took her 40 minutes to get gas.
South Florida Gas Shortages
Other Twitter users have been sharing their experience of struggling to find a station that still had gas, posting images of pumps with signs attached to them. The CBS News of Miami correspondent Christian Benavides while posting one of these images, added that he finally found gas at a station in Doral. The last week’s extreme weather including flooding has been affected by gas shortages in Southern Florida. The flooding disrupted the regular distribution and delivery of the precious liquid. Heavy rain in eastern Broward County last week caused floods in Port Everglades roads, preventing truck drivers from making fuel deliveries.
According to the local news media, there were long lines at the pumps over the weekend at stations across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The Miami Herald reported that some drivers waited for up to an hour on Sunday afternoon to get gas at stations along the US. The mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, wrote about the issue on Twitter, writing that the county is working closely with our state and federal partners to ensure gas is being distributed as quickly as possible to local stations.
On Sunday afternoon, Port Everglades issued a statement asking the public to remain patient, adding that there was an ample supply of gas and “deliveries will continue to increase.” The gas shortage is expected to be resolved soon and is considered to be linked strictly to the extreme weather that hit the region last week.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told Newsweek that there isn’t really a shortage in southern Florida. “Deliveries to stations were stopped briefly because of tremendous rainfall in Southeast Florida, which caused some stations to run low,” he claimed.
“Now, more motorists are driving around looking for gasoline, boosting consumption, and feeling nervous about supply so they’re also buying more gasoline than they usually do, further straining a system that’s 24-48 hours behind. Stations are having a hard time making up lost time, and if more motorists turn to this kind of panicked buying, it will further strain supply. If, however, motorists could delay refilling a day or two, or just buy what they immediately need, avoid filling up, stations could likely resupply themselves faster, and the situation would be over quicker.”
Later, the gas prices in Florida have been spiraling upwards in recent weeks rising 12 percent per gallon at the beginning of April.
