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Many searching for gas after Hurricane Irma

43 percent of Florida's gas stations are dry

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lines wrapped around gas stations across Florida as people who evacuated from Hurricane Irma were anxious to get home.

Many drivers are still having issues finding gas after Irma.

About 43 percent of gas stations in Florida are dry, according to the crowdsourcing platform GasBuddy. But the shortages are worse in several major cities around the state. In the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region, for example, about 60 percent of stations don't have fuel. Same for Gainesville.

About half of the gas stations in Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee and Fort Meyers were also without fuel, according to GasBuddy.

That's not much of a change from what the website reported Monday. Shortages are likely to remain until ports in Florida's major cities reopen. The state has few refineries of its own and tankers and barges will have to deliver virtually all of its fuel.

"We came down here to visit our daughter and we got stuck with the storm. Now we're trying to get back home and we seem to not be able to find any gas anywhere. Every gas station is out of gas, our gas light came on with a plenty of people on the road without gas. We had to park next to the gas station and just sleep there and hope for some gas," said Evelyn Gonzalez who was driving back from North Carolina.

With everyone on the road at once, the pumps are emptying fast. Some people say even quicker than before the storm hit.

"We've had more trouble today coming back down," evacuee, Tom Tanklersey, said. "The roads have been better, but all gas from Southern Georgia until we got here are out. That's why we brought extra gas with us from North Carolina."

Gov. Rick Scott took several actions to expedite fuel delivery to gas stations, including waiving the tax on fuel entering the state. The governor said the Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and Port of Tampa all opened Tuesday and are actively prioritizing fuel tanker ships. The Florida Highway Patrol has 20 troopers dedicated to escorting fuel resupply trucks to communities in need.

Scott encourages people to use GasBuddy to find a gas station with gas.

Logistical challenges could still hamper fuel supply to gas stations. According to GasBuddy, anywhere from 33 percent to 46 percent of stations in some of the state's biggest cities are without power.

Although the storm has passed, everyone should continue to listen to local officials and stay off the roads unless necessary to keep areas cleared for search and rescue missions.

CNN contributed to portions of this article.


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