Following a devastating cyber attack, a major US pipeline has been seriously disrupted. However, it will not take long before the Colonial Pipeline is up and running once more.
That's according to Joe Biden, US president. The Colonial Pipeline supplies about half the East Coast's fuel supply.
Since the problem will be fixed soon, drivers have been urged to refrain from panicked refilling of their tanks.
Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Energy Secretary, urged people not to hoard fuel since "Things will be back to normal soon."
Unfortunately, not everyone heeded that advice. Even though the country was not actually suffering from any fuel shortages, and even though people were reassured that the pipeline would be back in operation soon, anxious drivers actually caused l gas shortage in the 11 East Coast states affected with their panic buying.
In the end, over 12,000 gas stations claimed that they were empty. The chaos resulted in the price of a single gallon rising to over $3, which is the highest it has been to since the year 2014.
In other words, this is the toilet paper frenzy happening all over again; and once more, it's not pretty.
1. People Are Taking Ridiculous Risks Due To The Gas Shortage
2. Why Worry About Gas Shortage When You Can Have Wendy's Chili?
3. Try To Be Better Than This. You Can Be If You Try.
The attack on the pipeline is not actually the cause of the gas shortage. People's panicked hoarding is what has caused the problem.
It's all very irresponsible, and Carolina Governor Roy Cooper admitted that the panic buying is the reason behind a gas supply crisis in his state.
Apparently, 70% of gas stations in Charlotte ended up running out of gas. There were also complaints of price gouging throughout the state.
The governor went on to explain that they were taking multiple measures to ensure the situation as back to normal.
In addition to reassuring residents that the problem would be fixed as soon as possible, he explained that both local and federal officials were working hard to get the problem fixed.
The Carolina governor also declared a state of emergency to give transportation drivers permission to come with their heavy trucks into the state and supply it with gas. Apparently, the EPA had also given the state a waiver that allows it to increase the amount of fuel coming in.
4. The Attack Only Caused A Slow Down, But It's The People Who Caused The Shortage
5. Doesn't Get It: The Put The Bag On The Pump Because It's Out Of Gas
6. Getting A Few Extra Bags, Just In Case
People are clearly not paying attention to the incredible amount of risk they are taking by going to these ridiculous measures to hoard gas.
Luckily, this should stop now that the federal government has changed the rules to allow gas suppliers to fill up their storages more easily. This has included the lifting of seasonal gasoline anti-smog requirements.
Additionally, fuel truckers have been allowed to work for more hours.
According to reports from the media, the attackers that caused this problem demanded almost $5 million in ransom from Colonial Pipeline. However, the company has still not paid the ransom.
Luckily, the company later reported that it had resumed operations.
However, that does not mean that things are back to normal. In a statement, the company explained that after the restart, "it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal."
As a result, the company said that:
"Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period."
Otherwise, the company promised that it would be moving as much fuel as possible in a safe manner and that it would continue to do so until their operations are completely back to normal.
7. However, Things Are Still Getting More Ridiculous By The Day
8. Unfortunately, Everyone Seems To Be Hoarding Fuel
9. Including Trying To Fill Up Big Plastic Bins With Gas
It has not been that long since Colonial Pipeline reported that it had experienced a cyber attack that paralyzed its operations. After the attack, the company's operations came to a stop.
After the crisis, an interagency group working in conjunction with the Energy Department met so that officials could look into "multiple contingencies" in case a protracted shutdown of the company's operations resulted in lower fuel supplies throughout the country.
Later, President Joe Biden referenced the decision while talking to reporters. He explained that the government had been in a "very, very close contact with Colonial Pipeline" and went on to reassure everyone in the country that they were about to "hear some good news in the next 24 hours."
The president claimed that they would be getting things under control very soon.
10. Why Fill Up Such Huge Containers With Gas?
11. Some Gas Stations Saw This As An Opportunity To Hike Prices
12. There Has Been Pure Chaos
13. There Were Reports About A Gas Station In Escambia County Selling A Gallon Of Regular Gas For $4.29 A Gallon
However, shortly after news reporters showed up to hear more about this ridiculous price increase, the price was lowered to $3.29.
14. It's Easier Getting Your Tesla Car Charged
15. Doing It Just Because He Can
16. No Wonder The Situation Got Worse And Worse
17. Look At The Size Of Those Containers
18. Working Hard To Make The Shortage Real
19. Believe It Or Not, That's Gas
20. The Hoarding Is Getting Out Of Hand
21. Lines At Gas Stations At 1 In The Morning
22. Prices Rising Due To The Increased Demand
23. Buying In Bulk
24. Someone Is Towing Huge Barrels Of Gas With Their Truck
25. Some Pumps Were Soon Out Of Fuel
26. Hoarding More Than They Can Carry
27. This Is A Common Sight At Gas Stations
28. Someone Taking Advantage Of The Shortage To Sell Gas At $16 A Gallon
29. Trying To Get 100 Gallons During A Gas Shortage. Really?
30. Someone Brought Every Container They Could Find In Their Garage
The hoarders have literally managed to make a bad situation worse. What would have been a minor disruption in gas supply has now turned into a full-blown gas shortage crisis.
