As Hurricane Irma nears Florida, everyone is in a rush to fill up their tanks. About 40% of the gasoline stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region are now without fuel. Floridians have turned to the Crowd-Sourced ‘Gas Buddy’ App to determine which stations still have gas.
The above image from the web version of Gas Buddy Tracker. Zoom into the area you’re looking for gas to see the red and green symbols indicating fuel shortages. Gas Buddy says the mobile app is more accurate.
Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst at Gas Buddy, said their newest feature – the Gas Availability Tracker – has now been rolled out to those who could be affected by Hurricane Irma in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
“The tool seeks to help motorists in need to find gasoline, and certainly in some cases. will also help motorists find stations that have power,” DeHaan said.
The app was developed during Hurricane Harvey in Texas. People can log in to view gas stations in their area. A red fuel pump icon indicates the station currently has gas. A red lightning bolt icon indicates the station has power, especially helpful for those in areas affected by power outages.
The data is largely crowdsourced by users who submit information through the app.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced in Miami that he’s asked the governors of Alabama and Georgia to waive trucking regulations so tankers can get fuel into the city, which is experiencing one of the largest shortages statewide as residents prepare for the hurricane’s landfall.
He told residents of the Florida Keys that “we’re doing everything to get fuel to you as quickly as possible.” Tourists are under a mandatory evacuation order, which began Wednesday morning.
Residents will then be ordered to evacuate, but the fuel shortage is putting a hitch in that.
Governor Promotes Gas Buddy, Expedia, Google Maps, Xfinity
TechCrunch reports As Irma nears, Florida Governor tells residents to use Gas Buddy, Expedia, Google Maps.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Florida Governor Rick Scott told state residents to turn to apps and other online resources, including Gas Buddy, Google Maps, Expedia and Comcast’s Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot finder, to help them find fuel, navigate safely, and stay connected both ahead of and following Hurricane Irma’s arrival.
The lack of readily available gasoline, in particular, has been a huge problem facing the state – something that Scott admitted he knew had been “frustrating” in this time of crisis. Not only have some gas stations had long lines, many simply keep running out of gas entirely, as people prepare for possible evacuations by topping off their tanks.
The company tells TechCrunch that it’s now seeing hundreds of gas stations across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina without fuel. It says the hardest hit cities are Miami (30% of stations are out of gas), West Palm Beach (29%), Fort Myers-Naples (20%), Tampa (13%), and Orlando (9% are out.)
The app has seen a ton of usage following Harvey and ahead of Irma – its App Store ranking has jumped 150 spots over the past week or so, and is now in the top 50 Overall.
In addition to Gas Buddy, Scott noted that the state was working with Google to keep its mapping app updated with the most current information on road closures.
“Real time traffic information and evacuation routes is available at FL511.com,” said Scott. “We have traffic cameras on every major roadway in the state and are clearing traffic issues in real-time so we can keep people moving,” he continued. “We’re coordinating with Google’s emergency response team to prepare to close roads in Google Maps in real-time in the event that Hurricane Irma forces a closure of any roads in the aftermath of the storm,” Scott added.
Of course, the Google-owned Waze app may be more useful ahead of Irma’s landfall. The crowdsourced navigation tool is great for finding out about traffic incidents, road closures, speeds, and other hazards in real-time as well. This information is additionally fed into Google.org’s Crisis Maps, which displays other details like precipitation, public alerts, evacuation routes, shelters, forecasts and more.
“If you need a hotel, go to Expedia.com/florida,” said Scott. “Expedia is working on hotel occupancy in real-time.”
Scott noted that Comcast was opening 137,000 hotspots to help people stay connected, too. These Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots will be made free across the state for non-Xfinity customers and subscribers alike. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all setting up additional Wi-Fi hotspots as well, he said.
Hurricane Preparation
The Florida.Gov website has updates on Hurricane Irma Preparedness.
Today, Governor Rick Scott received a full update on Hurricane Irma from the State Emergency Operations Center. The Governor is traveling the state today to meet with local officials, ensure communities have all the resources they may need, and to encourage families and visitors to be fully prepared. Evacuation orders have been issued in Monroe County and additional orders are expected as the storm nears the state. The Governor will continue to be in constant communication with state and local emergency management officials, city and county leaders, and utility officials who are also working to ensure the state is prepared to respond to any potential impacts from Hurricane Irma.
Evacuation Notices and Orders
- Broward County has issued voluntary evacuations of mobile homes and low-lying areas beginning today.
- Collier County has issued voluntary evacuations of Marco Island beginning today.
- Monroe County has issued mandatory evacuations for visitors beginning this morning. Mandatory evacuations for residents will begin this evening.
- Individuals with special needs started being evacuated from Miami-Dade County this morning.
- Additional evacuations are expected throughout the state. All Floridians should pay close attention to local alerts and follow the directions of local officials.
- To find available shelters by county, visit floridadisaster.org/shelters
The site also lists school closures and emergency numbers.
Blame Anti-Gouging Laws for Shortages
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Dateline: Dallas, last Thursday night.
Altho Dallas did not get one single drop of rain from Harvey, the fact that everyone THOUGHT it might, the gas stations in North Dallas were all out of gas Thursday night. Everyone had gone out and ‘topped off their tanks’…..
By Saturday morning – all the stations were re-filled. No problem……except the price had jumped from about $2.29 up to $2.69.
You old guys remember when Johnny Carson mentioned on his show that there was s shortage of toilet paper? As a joke. Sure enuff – HE caused a shortage – because everyone ran out and ‘stocked up’ before the stores ran out……which they did very quickly…..HAHAHAHAHAHA
I always stock up to the max before the hoarders get there.
Clarity: Just for gasoline – or do you do it for toilet paper, too……? 🙂 🙂
Especially toilet paper–it’s the only thing my wife won’t yell at me about for stocking up on. Every time Costco has our favorite brand on coupon, we go long TP in a big way.
About maybe two years ago I noticed that vanilla extract was starting to go up in price and a little research revealed problems with the crop. At Costco I bought 5 or 6 pint bottles at about $6 each. At my store they are priced at $27 and have been for quite a while, so it isn’t just a quick spike up. So I’ve got maybe $130 worth of vanilla extract in my cupboard. Does that make me an evil hoarder? If I sold it to someone desperate for vanilla extract at the bargain price of $25, would I be a price gouger?
YES YOU GOUGER !!! Do you not care about any of us who may have wanted 2 or 3 extra bottles ourselves?
P. S. I did the same thing with peanut butter 3 yrs ago. Peanut crop was bad-prices we’re going up… bot 6 jars at $6. It went to $11. Should’ve bot a semi truck load….👍👍
I did that too. But I bought 10 jars…. PB never goes bad, right?
And they say that history doesn’t repeat itself…..Yet the same pattern of government caused shortages, and the public’s completely rational response of getting theirs first, has been happening since ancient Egypt.
It’s not irrational it’s survival instincts and it will never change. The small % that exercise control will either perish or change their minds fast lol.
Photos of the Devastation Across Saint Martin Left by Hurricane Irma
7 Sep 2017 | Alan Taylor
24 Photos In Focus
While Hurricane Irma appears set on a possible path toward southern Florida, the category 5 storm has already left a trail of destruction across parts of the Caribbean. The worst-affected island so far is Saint Martin, which has reported eight deaths to date. The island of Saint Martin is split into two parts, overseen by the governments of France and the Netherlands. Reuters has quoted the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as saying that Irma has caused “enormous devastation,” and that the island remains unreachable for now.
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/09/photos-from-saint-martin-after-hurricane-irma/539103/
“Monroe County has issued mandatory evacuations for visitors beginning this morning. Mandatory evacuations for residents will begin this evening.”
…
If you are a homeowner, you will not be forced out.
Rick Scott also rescinded tolls to keep traffic flowing.
“Out of Gas: If Florida gas stations were not under anti-gouging rules, panic buying and tank topping would slow”
…
Great. The well to do will be able to afford to pay whatever to get the heck out. The poor? If gas $10 or $20 a gallon??
Give the damn stuff away, if necessary, to move people away.
socialism
never
works
and
only
harms
the
poor
I don’t believe the anti-gouging argument works in this instance. It assumes that enough fuel exists at some price point. But business owners aren’t going to build for the worst case scenario, just for the every day. Otherwise they overspend relative to everyone else.
I’ve often thought that if the federal government just lied, and said they will guarantee that supplies will exist after the storm, and they will subsidize the purchase after the storm so its cheaper, it would keep humans from stocking up on stuff they don’t actually need.
But, I’m sure better minds have come up with better ideas for this type of issue.
Rick ScottVerified account @FLGovScott 1h1 hour ago
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I’ve directed FHP to escort resupply fuel trucks to gas stations– we’re aggressively working to get fuel out.
https://twitter.com/FLGovScott?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
The US taxpayer (likely) will be on the hook for tens of $billions to clean up Irma. I have ZERO problem with giving away a small portion of that for free gas the next 48 hours.
This will likely be a once in a lifetime catastrophe.
Everything out the window NOW to save lives.
“The US taxpayer (likely) will be on the hook for tens of $billions to clean up Irma.”
Not so much “on the hook”, as just arbitrarily forced to pay. Due simply to being outgunned. And generally to dumb and indoctrinated to even recognize that as a problem.
Every minute of every day, is a “once in a lifetime” hobgoblin of some sort, in progressive dystopias. Hence an excuse to rob someone.
I don’t really have any problem helping people get money for gas to get out of town right now, either. Problem is, the reason there isn’t enough gas, is that noone had any incentive to build extra capacity on the gamble that they could one day get 10-fold for their investment.Given the lure of $40/gallon gas prices, you’d have half the opportunists in the South East filling their cars with jerrycans and going into Miami right now…..
Similarly, the reason houses in hurricane zones aren’t safe, is because they aren’t built safe. Despite, at least in the Miami area, being priced well in excess of what it would cost to build them much, much safer and more hurricane suitable.
In general, NOW is not the best time to arrange an economy to deal with a predictable tragedy unfolding NOW.
Left alone, free creatures adapt to their environment. Simple livestock, existing for no other purpose than the enrichment and aggrandizement of their masters, otoh; are a lot more vulnerable. After all, they’re just livestock.
“Every minute of every day, is a “once in a lifetime” hobgoblin of some sort, in progressive dystopias.”
…
Wow, didn’t think you would be prone to hyperbole. But, hey, in case you’re not. Can you fill me in on yesterday’s “once in a lifetime” hobgoblin?
Wasn’t yesterday the day of the Kim?
Or was that two days ago, and yesterday was devoted to some Mexican doing too much work for too little money?
Sounds like you guys would fit right in with some of our current lawmakers.
Passing out free fuel will make fuel more available? Lying to boost public confidence will prevent people from panic buying? Yikes.
Maybe they can send artists and actors to put on skits to keep those in line entertained while they wait.
Or block off I95 to sponsor a troop who can dance topless. To “raise awareness” about the plight of lesbians during hurricanes……
Or it assumes that gas could be moved easily, under which it would make complete sense. If retail went to $10 on the highest risk spots and wholesale could go to $7 in those same spots, and that could influence delivery from the rest of the U.S. to those spots, then it makes complete sense. (Like a nat gas pipeline), but it can’t, so all you would have is the poor people throwing rocks at the Range Rovers as they pulled out of the stations.
Of course it’s a silly argument, just call NetJet and fly out.
I have to agree with Tony about anti-gouging laws. All you are doing is shifting who gets the shortage – the 99% or the 100%. I’d prefer the 1% not get special treatment – they already have a better life, as measured by things money can buy. Let them die with the rest of us if they don’t plan ahead. Hate to be a gloomy Gus…and I hate that it smacks of socialism, but it sure sounds fair.
_aleph_
Why do you socialists think that only “the rich” have enough money to be able to spend $10/gal to fill their tank with enough gas to get away from the storm? Especially when you’ll find more $100 a pair (and even $200 a pair!) sneakers in the ghetto than anywhere else?
$10/gal gas is meant to stop people from running down to the gas station to top off every time they drop a gallon or two, thereby keeping the gas lines shorter and hence, fuel more available.
That would be easy to implement. Issue a magnetically-striped “gift card” from the state at any retailer who sells gift cards (so their Point of Sale terminal is equipped to encode cards). Encode the last six digits of a getaway vehicle’s VIN number from the driver’s liability insurance card (no insurance, no free gas) and a swipe of the driver’s license. The state’s server would then be able to limit issuance to one card per car to prevent fraud, but the retailer doesn’t have to enter the entire 17 alphanumeric characters of the VIN number on a numeric-only keypad.
The card becomes active as soon as an evacuation is ordered. 10 free gallons per stop. Each stop much be at least 100 miles farther north than the last (assumes 10+ mpg); no turning back or the card is invalidated. If the card isn’t used for 24 hours it becomes invalidated. That keeps cars moving north, else Florida stops paying for their gas.
All I need is the latitude of every gas station in Florida and I could program it in a day or two. Oh well, die and learn.
Jeez Louise……REALLY?
So….what happens when some Russian hacks into the program, pulls a line of 5,000 gal tankers up and steals ALL the gas. Would we count on the FBI to find out who did this?
Duh. The gas station attendant or any aware motorist could always hit the emergency shutoff button, which stops all pumping at the station. Police are called, tanker driver arrested (if they haven’t been killed by the well-armed mob), truck impounded.
Let prices rise and I’ll bet more people will carpool or take Greyhound. Thus reducing the traffic out of the hurricane areas.
Something for the deep thinkers, from a Jarhead who just learned to spell his name…
ALWAYS keep a few spare containers of gasoline if possible and never drive with less than a half tank of fuel…Crisis Solved….
To make sure you don’t misunderstand The Jarhead : I KNOW they taught him to NEVER DRIVE AROUND WITH A CONTAINER OF GASOLINE IN YOUR TRUNK…..when they were teaching him to drive the deuce and a half….right, Sir?
Might as well have a bomb back there……don’t do it…..
WE’RE TALKING A CRISIS CHIEF….Never said to carry fuel continually in a trunk…That’s why I started my comment to the deep thinkers…You can ponder your bomb theory, while I’m on the road out of Dodge with my ANSI certified cans…BTW—ANSI cans are designed for transport if one has the ability to follow the safety instructions on the side of the container…
Naahhh…I knew YOU knew. But I just wanted to remind the rednecks on here that to always have a 5 gal can of gasoline sloshing around in your trunk – so that you “NEVER will run out of gas”……ain’t the smartest thing to be doing…..
the clown is proud he worked for the government – that’s how dim he is
If you pwned a gas station, at what point would you quit ordering gas if your station would most likely be under water. That storage tank ain’t as water tight as you might hope. Anything left in the tank at storm time is likely to get water contamination.
The Turks and Calicos Islands are expected to be hit dead on by Irma. Storm surge expecte to be 15 to 20 feet, and waves up to 40 foot.Highest elevation is about 15 feet. It will hit in 1 hour.
Will all this panic buying plus the reconstruction of damaged property plus the replacement of the 1 million cars flooded out (which insurance companies and banks will either eat or write off/write down any residual loan balance outstanding) mean that we can see upwards of 4%-7% Gdp for 3rd and 4th quarters of this year?? Seems like being uninsured or under insured in this instance is a non issue since the federal government will be bailing out everyone so everyone plus the banks and car car insurance car insurance companies
So this is how Trump gets his 4% growth. Very crafty for him to reactivate the Bush weather machine.
“mean that we can see upwards of 4%-7% Gdp for 3rd and 4th quarters of this year?? ”
…
Following Katrina and Rita (Q3 2005) there was a downshift in economy absent a bump one quarter (Q1 2006).
Mish,
Are you saying that if gas stations were allowed to charge say $5, they wouldn’t run out of gas?
Why do you think that?
People might not fill up their tank if their tank is 1/2 to 3/4 full. They would get out of the area and fill up later if the price was high enough.
Supplies would be diverted from other stations quicker etc.
Northern Florida has plenty of gas.
Like the concept or not……I think Mish is right on this.
The gas shortage is probably not caused by those who keep their tanks half to three quarters full topping up. It’s more likely caused by those who drive around with the warning light on continuously, putting in a couple of gallons as needed, who now realize they have a serious problem and need to at least half fill the tank to get out of the area. I’ll bet there are a lot more of the second case than the first.
Do you really think people will risk running out of gas to save $10?
One scenario where you may be right is if they passed the gouged price onto the suppliers. If they paid say $500 extra dollars per tanker, it might result in more tankers miraculously getting to the stations.
Thanks for that link to the gas buddy page. I was looking earlier for just such a tool. I’m in Marion County (Ocala, FL) and staying put unless there are big changes but I see heavy traffic and hear stories of no gas available.
If gas went to $7/g in south Florida, wouldn’t oil companies divert gas from other states and send it there, eliminating the shortage which allow people to leave?
Okay, some thoughts for those who might get stuck out there on the road:
(1) 180 mph wind is as bad as a tornado. Bad place to be on the road, worse place to be under a bridge… but…
(2) … if you can get into a prestressed concrete structure that is not in the range of surge,swell, and waves, those things ride out tornados just fine.
(3) … if you ARE stuck under a bridge, see if those are concrete or steel girders. If they are, and if you have some 2x4s, plywood, and screws handy… maybe you could cut to fit, and make a floor between two of the girders up near the abutment. Then build a wall to the outside, leaving enough space to get in near the abutment. Point being, as long as storm surge and water don’t get close to the bridge, I don’t think that bridge is going anywhere. Don’t try this on a bridge over any kind of water, or where storm surge will come. Back in Katrina, bridges floated away, then crashed into the water as water levels dropped… not a good place to be. Not that my advice is legal, but it’s a better prep than to be dead. You can take away the evidence before anyone else notices, anyhow.
The bottled water shortage is amusing too. Long lines, high prices, and swarms when new pallets arrive. Its easy to avoid by just filling jugs at home, but people do not always make a rational market.
Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
@Mish
Stick to what you know. The panic buying is not “panic” at all but a very rational reaction. Last time Fl got hit by a hurricane we lost power for several days and most gas stations didn’t have generators to operate the pumps (for at least 3 to 5 days). So locals learnt that lesson and they are not just topping off. They are also topping off their canisters for storage. You know what would have stopped all this “panic” buying? A regulation that mandates that all gas stations be able to dispense gas even when the grid fails.
One more thing USA now depends much more on the forecast capabilities of Europe than our own. This is a consequence of cutting and cutting budgets of things such as NHC.
Not enough government mandates in your life already, eh?
It is panic buying in the sense that people did not prepare earlier. Hence, panic.
How about this for an idea: Gas stations that demonstrate an ongoing ability to sell gas during an extended grid failure shall be exempt from anti-gouging laws.
*Some* really, really, really kra-kra-KRAZZZY people even stockpile an extra tank’s-worth of fuel, “just in case” something like this happens.
They’re called “preppers”, and we all H8 them because they’re part of the solution..
Yep, I routinely keep 50 gals on gas on hand in an outside building on my property here in flyover country. Figure any major disruption will mean I can’t get a self driving car to haul me around so I keep enough on hand for the generator and my ICE vehicle that I would have to drive myself
The prepper keeps himself a gasoline supply on hand either in jerrycans or maybe a stand alone tank of some kind. You can carry around the the cans, they are portable but the real prepper is carrying around some siphoning hosing so that he can help himself to all the vehicles that do get left behind.
No need to leave thousands of gallons sitting idly by in tanks of cars that will be headed to salvage once this is over with.
I have 3 five gallon gas containers in my garage. I’ve learned my lesson from extended power outages in the past. Run the generator for 15 minutes every hour to keep the fridges and freezers cold.
Hey Kid: Curious. Where do you live and why is the power out? I’ve always considered a generator – but live in suburban North Dallas – and power outages are very rare and very short.