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After too much rain, too little gas in south Florida’s stations

MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 17: A sign on a pump indicates that the gas station doesn’t have gasoline on April 17, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Gas station had sporadic fuel shortages, and some long lines, throughout South Florida after the heavy rainfall last week flooded Port Everglades roads and disrupted the ability to move fuel from the port to local stations. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle)
By Christine Hauser New York Times

Government agencies have intervened to try to address a severe gasoline shortage in Florida, where last week’s torrential rainstorms and floods damaged critical infrastructure and left gas stations in the state’s southeast without fuel.

The Environmental Protection Agency has stepped in to help Florida increase gasoline supplies while the state was delivering fuel directly to the areas where the shortage is most acute.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said Thursday that the EPA was “quickly processing” a request from Florida “to expand the available supply of gas in the region” and that it was ready to provide additional help if requested.

“We are closely monitoring the situation in Florida right now,” she said, adding that the Biden administration had “been in touch with the state to offer assistance.”

Storms battered parts of southeastern Florida for several days, bringing up to 2 feet of rain. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale.

The flooding also hit the Port Everglades seaport, which processes 40% of the state’s fuel, hindering distribution and causing demand to spike amid the shortages, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said Thursday.

GasBuddy, an app and blog that shows prices at stations and tracks supplies, activated its availability tracker to help drivers find fuel. As of Thursday afternoon, according to the app, 47% of gas stations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale were without fuel.

Florida has announced other measures to meet the increased demand for gas.

Since the flooding at Port Everglades slowed fuel distribution, the state has delivered 1 million gallons of fuel to commercial gas stations in the area, with law enforcement escorts for supply trucks to expedite delivery, the emergency management division said.

Work was also progressing to bring Port Everglades fully back online, the seaport said. As of Thursday, the seaport was about 70% operational.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.