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Fort Lauderdale flooding causes gasoline shortages

Supply disrupted from Port Everglades
Shell station on Military Trail and Forest Hill Boulevard in West Palm Beach was out of gas April 14, 2023.
Posted at 5:38 PM, Apr 15, 2023
and last updated 2023-04-15 17:47:11-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Some gas stations in South Florida are out of fuel because of limited supplies from Port Everglades after record flooding in the city Wednesday.

On Saturday, a WPTV crew found gas stations through West Palm Beach have gas. Subsequently, the station received calls to the newsroom of stations without gas west of Delray Beach and Lake Worth Beach.

The Wawa in Palm Springs had vehicles backed up and waiting to fill up, one caller said.

RELATED: Here's why downpour in Fort Lauderdale just wouldn't stop

On Friday night, an employee at a Shell station at Forest Hill Boulevard and Military, told most Shell stations were having supply problems after 25 inches of rain fell in the city.

Officials from Port Everglades told WTVJ that roads in and out of the fuel farms were flooded, which did not allow their trucks to get to gas stations.

Officials said there was an adequate supply of fuel in storage, and several tanker ships in port and offshore were waiting to offload more fuel.

Maximo Alvarez, the president of Sunshine Gasoline Distributors, on Friday said issues should clear up by Saturday.

"Recovery efforts for the fuel companies at Port Everglades are proceeding following Wednesday's extraordinary storm," Broward County Mayor Lamar Fisher said in a news release. "Petroleum tankers that transport diesel and gasoline are in position at the port to load and deliver to gas stations in the region. However, the public may experience some delivery delays, which is typical following natural disasters. While there are companies that are still recovering from the storm due to excessive rain and flooding, others are operational. Fuel deliveries are expected to increase over the coming days."