Although it hasn't affected the northeast...yet, the gas shortage is real in the south.
Panic buying has gripped vehicle owners as the Colonial Pipeline shutdown entered it's sixth day. Russian hackers cut off the supply of gasoline and jet fuel being pumped to the east, and buying gas has become the new toilet paper shortage of 2021. According to cnn.com, as of 12:37 pm ET, 65% of all gas stations in North Carolina, 42% in Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina are without gasoline. Late Wednesday afternoon Colonial Pipeline said they had restarted operations after the ransomware attack, but it's going to take days to get back to normal.
There are long lines at the stations that are open as people fill up, top off, or fill any available container with the precious juice. This video of a woman filling a plastic shopping bag with about 5 gallons of gas, and wisely double bagging it, prompted the U.S. Consumer Product safety Commission to issue this tweet warning people, "Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline."
She probably fired up a Marlboro on the ride home. Watch....