(news nation) — Hundreds of thousands of people are evacuating Florida ahead of the second major hurricane in two weeks, but traffic backups and gasoline shortages are causing problems for evacuees.
Evacuation orders have been issued for 11 counties on Florida's west coast, leaving about 16% of the state's gas stations without gasoline due to the exodus of residents.
Current category 5 hurricane milton It was moved from Category 1 to Category 5 on Monday alone, then downgraded on Tuesday morning before gaining momentum again in the Gulf of Mexico.
“If you want to get out, get out now,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) urged on Tuesday. “I have time today. time is running out. ”
As of 11 a.m. ET, more than 1,200 of the state's 7,912 gas stations were empty, according to the government. gas buddytracks fuel prices across North America in real time.
That's a significant increase from Monday's numbers, when just 3% of Florida's filling stations were not dispensing fuel.
The Fort Myers, Tampa Bay and Orlando areas were expected to be worst affected by Milton sometime Wednesday and recorded some of the highest numbers of out-of-service stations.
patrick de haanGas Buddy's head of petroleum analysis said: market watch He said the majority of evacuees were trying to head north on one of the two main roads, calling this a “difficult situation.”
De Haan recommends stopping at larger stops along highways, as they are likely to have more resources to fuel large numbers of people.
Milton will hit Florida just weeks after Hurricane Helen significantly impacted the Big Bend region and moved northwest, devastating communities in the southeastern United States. Helen killed at least 230 people, and it is estimated that thousands more are still missing or missing.
Florida's goal is to remove as much of Helen's debris as possible before Milton makes landfall. One of the state's biggest concerns for Milton is that the debris left behind by Helen will pick up and cause further damage to the community.
But with so much debris, DeSantis urged residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate now before it's too late.
