A week after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Gulf coast, crippling America’s fourth largest city and killing dozens, the country is still feeling its effects. One thing that has been particularly hard is the country’s gas supply. In the last few days, shortages across Texas has caused gas prices to rise and there have been incidents of price-gouging. There’s also been some fights. It’s not just Texas, though; gas prices are rising across the U.S.
Gas shortages tend to look the same everywhere, with long lines of cars forming at stations, and some gas stations closed completely. The situation in Texas, right now, is no exception. There’s been at least one report of a gas station selling gas at $20 a gallon, according to Newsweek.
The shortages are being blamed on the shutting down of ten Gulf Coast oil refineries in the wake of Harvey, according to CBS News.
From their report:
Around Dallas, pumps at several service stations in places like Denton, McKinney and Little Elm are seeing gas shortages, leading customers to scramble.
“We heard there was going to be a shortage,” one driver told CBS Dallas-Fort Worth. “So we hopped in the car and came and filled up.”
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The majority of North Texas gas stations are not expected to run out of gas, but costs are expected to rise. Gas prices in the region are up almost 20 cents from this time last week, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported. That jump comes just ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend, which typically sees heavy driving.
In Austin, Texas, one motorist said his friends are all filling up their tanks on expectations that prices would go up by the end of the day. A gallon of gas at one Valero, Texas station in the Travis Heights neighborhood cost $2.39 a gallon.
There was also some arguments:
And, in the meantime, prices are rising everywhere as a result of the storm ahead of a holiday weekend which will see millions of people across the country will be making their last summer road trip. According to AAA, gas prices currently average $2.52 per gallon for regular unleaded, which is 17 cents more than it was a week ago. That’s also the most expensive gas has been all year. In Texas, which historically has some of the cheapest gas in the country, the average is $2.36 per gallon, up from $2.15 a week ago. (The most expensive gas in the U.S. can be found in California, where drivers are paying an average of $3.04 per gallon for regular unleaded.)
In other words, it’ll be a long time before Harvey is through with us.