Gasoline Shortages Plague Florida Post-Hurricane Milton

Nearly 25% of the approximately 7,900 gas stations in Florida have reported running out of gasoline following Hurricane Milton, as reported by GasBuddy on Thursday. The shortages began even before the storm made landfall on Wednesday night, as many residents evacuated and fueled up in preparation for the storm’s arrival. According to Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), nearly half of the state’s gas stations are lacking fuel, as confirmed by Denton Cinquegrana, OPIS’ chief oil analyst, in a statement to ABC News.

The areas around Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg have been hit particularly hard, with close to two-thirds of gas stations there without fuel. This severe shortage of gasoline is expected to hinder recovery efforts significantly, impacting businesses and residents trying to return to normalcy in the aftermath of the hurricane.

A major contributor to the delays in gasoline availability is the disruption at Port Tampa Bay, which handles over 43% of the state’s petroleum imports. Power outages across the region further complicate the situation, as gas stations require electricity to pump fuel, according to experts. Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, emphasized that, “This kind of situation isn’t solved overnight. It’s going to take many days to work itself out and get the situation back to normal.”

Port Tampa Bay reported that while it avoided serious damage, with only minor impacts to buildings, complications remain due to road closures and flooding. “Some damage was observed to buildings but there has been no significant damage to docks so far,” a port statement said on Thursday morning. The port is currently assessing when it might resume operations.

According to Jason Miller, a supply-chain management professor at Michigan State University, any extensive damage to the roads from the storm could stall potential truck deliveries needed to supplement the state’s fuel shortages. “It’s not a solution that you could implement tomorrow,” Miller noted, highlighting the logistical challenges involved.

Electricity restoration is another critical aspect of recovery. More than 3.4 million Floridians are experiencing power outages as reported by tracking sites, with over 50,000 personnel deployed to restore power, according to Governor Ron DeSantis. “In a perfect world, power comes back quickly,” OPIS’ Cinquegrana remarked. “I think by early next week we might still see some stations out but for the most part you’ll get pretty close to normal.”