HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Tuesday marked another day of long lines at South Florida gas pumps as fuel tankers continued to make their way to South Florida gas stations, playing catch-up after flooding issues created logistical problems at Port Everglades.
The port is the primary conduit for fuel to Miami-Dade, Broward and the Keys.
Officials said several fuel pumps were damaged and for 36 hours, the 1,200 trucks that normally transport fuel from the port were halted because of the storm.
At a Mobil station in Pembroke Park, drivers lined up as a truck came in to deliver much-needed fuel.
“These are hard times, my friend,” one driver said.
6 p.m. report:
A few blocks down, however, pumps at a RaceTrac store remained wrapped in caution tape.
In Hollywood, drivers got a lucky break. A Marathon gas station there had 4,000 gallons worth of fuel Tuesday morning.
“I was running on pretty much two miles trying to get some gas so I couldn’t just back out and leave,” driver Daniel Harris said.
The head of Port Everglades and Broward County officials said deliveries will continue to be slower than usual and they’re encouraging drivers to be patient and not panic-buy.
Noon report:
The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced Tuesday afternoon that it was deploying 500,000 gallons of fuel to South Florida gas stations in an effort to ease the situation.
“The State stands ready to assist our private sector partners in fuel distribution and delivery,” the agency tweeted.
.@FLSERT is deploying over 500,000 gallons of fuel to stations in SE FL. The State stands ready to assist our private sector partners in fuel distribution and delivery.
— FL Division of Emergency Management (@FLSERT) April 18, 2023
Officials said Tuesday that they “continue to see improvement” in terms of fuel distribution.
The director of Port Everglades said the historic floods exposed weaknesses and the port can make improvements to docks and to address sea level rise.
However, he said it’s up to the fuel terminal companies to make investments at their facilities.
“It is up to the terminals themselves to make the investments necessary whether they are looking at different types of pumps or locations,” Port Everglades CEO Jonathan Daniels said. “All of us will be going through an after-action report after this to see what we learned and to see how we can improve.”