Runnin'on Empty

Jonathan Serrie: "Panic buying" making gas shortage in Southeastern US worse.

In many parts of the country you are not, may not realize it, but there is a serious gas shortage in this southeastern United States. And in many cities and towns, they are still running on empty. Hurricanes Ike and Gustav causing fuel shortages and forcing some gas stations to shut down. There are lines everywhere and that’s left folks from Atlanta, to Nashville, to Memphis and all around waiting in line after line, trying to fill up their tanks and in many cases people aren’t able to do it. And experts are saying panic-buying is making the shortage even worse. In other words, Jonathon Serrie, live in Atlanta, I’m told people are coming to the gas stations and filling up and filling up gas cans in addition, which makes some run-out more quickly.

Exactly. It’s that panic buying. Right now you are looking at the supply and then walk over here. This is the demand. We have traffic in two directions going down this street, and then pan to the left, this street over here extending for two cities blocks. This is the scene right here, Shep.

It reminds of the Carter administration. Is anybody resorting to drastic measures because of these shortages, I mean, aside from filling up their gas cans?

Yeah. Well. There are some talk over the weekend of canceling the Georgia-Alabama game to cut down on the gas that the thousands of fans would be using, but governor Sonny Perdue dismissed-- that is ridiculous. Also in Douglas County, just west of Atlanta, people have been calling 911, saying, “Where’s the gas”; local officials saying, “Don’t do that. The operators have no ides and it’s tying up the system for legitimate calls.

You mentioned cancelling football, how far has this extended, they are having any problems around//, cause’s that would be a good excuse for them to cancel a certain football game over the weekend.

They are having the issue throughout the entire southeast and Georgia is not even the hardest hit state. Tennessee was particularly badly hit, Nashville, major urban centers in North Carolina, you’re talking about Raleigh, North Carolina, Salt Lake, mirroring what you’re seeing here in Atlanta, all over the southeast, Shep.

Well, Jonathon Serrie live in Carolina, I’m told there’s about a 30-31 chance of getting gas …