Some buying is emptying gas pumps across the Southeast close
The Colonial Pipeline shutdown has stretched into a sixth day, sparking panic-buying that is exacerbating the supply crunch.
Gas stations in the southeastern US face significant outages today.
As of 11 a.m. ET, 28.2% of all gas stations in North Carolina, 17.5% in Georgia and 17.1% in Virginia are without gasoline, according to
FEMA is “frequently” communicating with states impacted by Colonial
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been “frequently” communicating with states impacted by the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, says the agency’s new administrator Deanne Criswell.
In an interview clip released by CBS News Wednesday, Criswell is asked whether FEMA has had conversations with government agencies about potential disaster relief if the fuel shortages continue.
Criswell, who was sworn in last month as the head of FEMA, said the agency has “been in contact with all of our states that have been impacted by this, communicating with them frequently to see if there are any issues.”
“Right now, there’s no unmet needs that they need FEMA’s assistance for,” she said. “But you know be assured that we will continue to communicate with them and be able to support as needed.”
This comes as the Biden administration officials are urging Americans not to hoard gasoline as a growing number of gas stations along the East Coast run out of fuel in the wake of a surge in demand following a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.
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Biden says he thinks there will be “some good news in the next 24 hours” on the gas shortages
President Biden told reporters Wednesday that there will be “some good news in the next 24 hours,” regarding the resumption of operations for Colonial Pipeline.
“We have been very, very close contact with Colonial Pipeline, which is the one area you’re talking about, where that’s one of the reasons that gas the prices are going up. And I think you’re gonna hear some good news in the next 24 hours. And I think we’ll be getting that under control,” Biden said Wednesday.
“In the meantime, we’ve made it easier for us to have lifted some of the restrictions on the transportation of fuel, as well as access to the United States military, providing fuel and with vehicles to get it there were places where it’s badly needed,” he added.
On Tuesday, the White House and US Department of Transportation determined that states with previous declarations of “major disaster” issued by Biden in the last 120 days would be allowed to use highways to transport overweight loads of gasoline and other fuels, in an effort to address outages caused by panic buying in response to the Colonial Pipeline hack.
Biden also reiterated the need for more workforce training in cybersecurity to prevent future attacks.
