MIAMI, Fla. — Authorities in Florida announced that some 500,000 gallons of fuel are going to gas stations in the southeast of the state to help with fuel shortages caused by heavy rains last week and asked the public to be patient, as the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has announced that it will escort trucks with gasoline to ensure safe distribution.
The Florida Division for Emergency Management (FDEM) assured that “the State is ready to help” its “private sector partners in the distribution and delivery of fuel” by means of 500,000 gallons.
While FHP said it began escorting tankers from Tuesday evening to ensure gasoline is delivered safely to service stations. “We will work day and night so that all our fellow citizens have access to fuel,” he said on his Twitter account.
Heavy rains last week reaching record levels of more than 25 inches (63.5 cm) in Fort Lauderdale caused flooding that caused extensive damage to many homes.
The rains also caused flooding in areas where private oil companies operate in Port Everglades, the largest gasoline distribution center in South Florida, including Miami-Dade and Broward counties, as well as Florida. keys.
Thus, after a difficult weekend for motorists in South Florida running out of fuel, this Tuesday several stations were still without refueling while those which distributed fuel recorded long lines of cars, as Telemundo 51 was able to verify. .
Despite the arrival of tankers in the southeast of the state, problems persist in obtaining gasoline.
Port Everglades officials said in a public statement that there was no shortage of supply and the problem was in distribution, so “consumers may continue to experience delays and long lead times. waiting”.
“The fuel shortage from the April 12 storm that hit parts of Broward County affects 12 counties south of Lake Okeechobee that receive fuel from private companies operating in Port Everglades, including Miami-Dade Counties, Monroe and Palm Beach,” they added.
Authorities said several fuel pumps were damaged and the 1,200 tankers that normally transport fuel from this port were grounded for 36 hours due to the storm.
According to the FDEM, fuel was removed from storage centers in Cape Canaveral (east of downtown Orlando) and Tampa (west) to support refueling operations in the southeast.
“As the weather improves, we expect distribution to continue to improve and we do not anticipate any more gasoline shortages. As local gas stations are now receiving regular deliveries, we are asking residents to think twice before heading to the pump.),” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava asked in a statement today.
REPORT HIGH FUEL PRICES
“We know that our residents have struggled to find gas at gas stations due to last week’s rains and heavy flooding which caused delays in fuel distribution,” the mayor said. Miami-Dade County in a statement.
Levine-Cava reminded residents that price gouging is illegal during a state of emergency, adding, “If you, or someone you know, notices an increase in the price of gas, please contact the pricing hotline. Florida abusers at MyFloridaLegal.com or by calling 1 (866) 966-7226. »
In another sector, the mayor of the department stressed “that the weather has improved, we hope that the distribution will also improve and we do not anticipate any more gasoline shortages”. As stations receive new fuel supplies, we’re asking residents to think twice before you buy gasoline only when we really need it, we can help get stations back to normal service as quickly as possible .
André Khouri, spokesperson for the American Automobile Association (AAA) explains that “we must first manage safety… you must first assess the risk at the port and the best way to do this is in an orderly manner. and secure so that trucks can leave the port quickly”.
Florida receives fuel only through ships that arrive at four ports in the state from refineries in the Gulf of Mexico or on the east coast of the United States. Port Everglades in Broward supplies fuel to twelve southern sector counties, including Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward.
“There is no shortage. Gasoline stocks are quite strong. What exists is a logistical problem which means that the trucks cannot enter to stock up on fuel,” explains the AAA spokesperson.
HOW TO FIND FUEL
To avoid wasting time looking for gas, use an app on your cell phone, such as GasBuddy, but there are others similar. It’s easy to use, you just have to put your current location and it will show you a list of gas stations around you, the ones that don’t have fuel will have a symbol under the station name.
WHAT DRIVERS SAY
Daniel Herrera is one of many people who had to travel a long way to get gas in Miami-Dade, but their trip was not successful. “I’m worried because if I can’t find gas, how can I go home (…) I can’t take the car on my shoulder”, asks the man who says he went to four gas stations, alarmed, “people must be informed so that he does not throw himself into the street without knowing that there will be no gas”.
The manager of a gas station on West 49th Street in Hialeah says he doesn’t know when the fuel will arrive, at his gas station all gas stations are out of service.
“So far, we don’t know when the deliveries gas, they don’t give us an explanation yet. Only that we turn off the engines because there is no more gasoline, ”explains Daniela Cerda, who works at a Mobil gas station which has been without supplies since Friday and which made the impact felt at the ‘business.
“They come to consume both gasoline and products from the store, so sales have dropped a lot,” said Daniela Cerda, a worker at a Mobil service station.
Affected drivers continue to fear that this shortage will turn into a crisis.
“I’m running out of gas, let’s see if a downpour of gas falls and it stops the rain,” joked Daniel Herrera, one of the drivers affected by the fuel shortage.
Many gas stations in Miami do not have a date to receive fuel, but during the first trips on Wednesday it was possible to verify that the situation has improved, although the long lines and some stations without fuel continue.