They’ve been told not to panic, but that does not seem to be working for people fearful of not having enough gasoline to drive their cars following the cyber attack on one of the U.S.’s largest gas pipelines.
Friday, the Colonial pipeline’s computer system was hacked. Colonial supplies close to 45-percent of the fuel for the East Coast. Drivers in the Southeast portion of the nation are trying to fill up. In our region, that has especially become a problem where in Virginia about 44% of the state’s nearly 39,000 gas stations reported being out of gas, according to GasBuddy, a website company that tracks supply. Yesterday, Virginia governor Ralph Northam issued a state of emergency over the gasonline shortage.
In Maryland, about 11% of Maryland gas stations reported being out of gas. That number is at 10 percent in the District.   The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a series of safety tweets, reminding people to use the appropriate containers for gas, including a tweet that said, “Do not fill “bags” with gasoline.” Colonial says it expects to return to service by Friday.