Can you find gas in Miami? Fuel crisis easing? What to know about supply after the flood

The South Florida fuel crisis isn’t over yet.

Around 56% of gas stations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale are out of gas, according to the most recent figures on GasBuddy’s Southeast Florida Live Gas Station Outage Tracker.

Here’s what to know so far:

KNOW MORE: What’s behind Miami’s gas shortage?

How many gas stations are dry?

On Wednesday afternoon the tracker read:

▪ Miami/Fort Lauderdale: 56%

▪ West Palm Beach/Fort Pierce: 31.3%

▪ Fort Myers/Naples: 3.6%

According to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a fuel monitoring service, the empty Miami-Fort Lauderdale gas stations hit a peak of 68% Tuesday night.

The situation “has improved as expected overnight, but not much,” he said Wednesday. “That’s why I believe it will take a week or two — dependent on motorists getting control of their fears — before we see nearly complete improvement.”

He cited improvements early Wednesday of about 6 percentage points for Miami-Fort Lauderdale and 3 percentage points for West Palm Beach.

READ MORE: Picking up or returning a rental car in Miami? Here are tips to survive the gas crunch

If you’re a gas tank half-empty or half-full kind of person you may see that 6% overnight improvement figure as cause for alarm or celebration. If the latter, tell that to a frustrated neighbor who is running on fumes.

The gas problem

The big problem isn’t a gasoline shortage after the Great Flood of 2023 despite the lines, authorities say. The problem is more of demand.

Whatever the problem, it’s affecting how we do business.

For instance, Wednesday’s Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the Stephen P. Clark Center in Miami is not happening. “The board did not have quorum for the meeting due to the gas shortage,” commissioners with the Office of Community Advocacy said in a news release.

Fort Lauderdale storms that dumped nearly 26 inches of rain in a six-hour period on Wednesday, April 12, a supercell thunderstorm-fueled deluge meteorologists called a 1-in-1,000-year event, temporarily disrupted operations at Port Everglades, authorities said.

READ MORE: What’s behind Miami’s gas shortage? More fuel is on the way, but woes may continue

The Broward County facility is the hub for about 40% of the gasoline into Florida and serves 12 counties south of Lake Okeechobee, including Miami-Dade, Broward, the Keys and Palm Beach County.

Gas lines started forming as early as that Wednesday evening at one Kendall area BJ’s gas station more than 40 miles south of Port Everglades. By the weekend, lines were everywhere.

Public relations executive C.L. Conroy called the Miami Herald Saturday afternoon to tell of how she had to search out gasoline in Pinecrest neighborhoods as dozens of cars spilled out of gas station queues onto the roadways ahead of her. Her business partner Jorge Martinez noted the same situation near The Falls, she said.

Conroy was puzzled until one attendant told her his station hadn’t received its fuel shipment

“It was reminding me of, you know, post-hurricane times for sure,” she said.

Is there a gas shortage?

The supply system has been cranking 24/7 since last week’s flood.

As of Wednesday morning, “all indicators are pointing to more fuel getting to gas stations in southern Florida faster” Port Everglades said in its daily report.

“The news is encouraging,” Joy Oglesby, spokeswoman for Port Everglades, told the Miami Herald in an email Wednesday.

“All indicators point to more gas and diesel making its way to gas stations. The privately run petroleum companies at Port Everglades are now reporting 9 out of 12 gas terminals are operating,” she said.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t rush to the pumps’: Port Everglades has ample fuel supply after South Florida floods

In addition to these distributions of gas and diesel to retailers, gasoline from companies operating at the ports in Tampa and Canaveral is being delivered directly to retail stations to supplement available resources, according to Port Everglades.

“Fuel ships continue to bring petroleum products to Port Everglades. There is no shortage of gas, diesel, jet fuel or other petroleum products. And, the delays in delivery are expected to continue to decrease,” the port said in a statement.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers on Wednesday were escorting trucks carrying fuel as the State Emergency Response Team announced it had deployed 500,000 gallons of fuel to stations in South Florida. And the Florida Department of Transportation is allowing heavier fuel loads to be transported to the impacted areas.

Gas demand plea for drivers

Now, it’s up to drivers. Panic buying is not sustainable for the system, De Haan said.

He, and others, realize it is not all panic buying. Some drivers waiting in line have empty tanks and have to replenish to get to work, to get their children to school and to fuel their cabs, Ubers, Lyfts or delivery trucks.

But there is a clarion chorus of messages.

“Until the petroleum companies are fully operational and retail gas stations replenished, drivers should be judicious about their gas purchases and usage. Buy the gas that you need to take care of the essentials. Consider your neighbor, coworker or friend who may be in need,” Oglesby said on behalf of Port Everglades.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava held a Wednesday morning news conference from a Shell gas station at 2775 SW 28th Ter.

“We really think that people can relax, and now that gas is here in the area, things should normalize quickly,” she said. “People are topping off their tanks more than they normally would. .. That’s why we’re getting out the message that gas is here... There is sufficient gas supply if we don’t hoard,” Cava said at the Coconut Grove gas station — that ran dry around 11 a.m.

KNOW MORE: Amid empty pumps, Miami-Dade mayor urges drivers not to hoard gas or top off tanks

Maximo Alvarez, president of Doral-based Sunshine Gasoline Distributors that supplies fuel to about 550 stations and owns 360 of them in Florida, including many Shell, Exxon, Chevron, Mobil and Marathon outlets, was blunt with Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami:

“People here because of their panic are really causing a problem. If you don’t need gas, he said, don’t fill up.”

Miami Herald staff reporters Douglas Hanks and Omar Rodríguez Ortiz contributed to this report.