VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — We are already feeling the effects of the Colonial Pipeline closure in Hampton Roads! Several gas stations are out of fuel or close to it.
Drivers pulling up to a Kempsville BP Tuesday morning were met with a startling sign: “Sorry, we are out of gas”.
The location off Baxter and Princess Anne Roads ran dry on Sunday. But the owner's luck changed once a fuel truck showed up midday Tuesday.
“I saw the truck and I thought, 'Well, they will have gas then,'” said driver Rob Pittman.
That’s when drivers started zooming in. The BP was Pittman’s second stop.
“People in front of me were whipping around,” Pittman said. “It is crazy everywhere you go, people are in line at every gas station.”
By rush hour, the line spilled into the road.
“It’s been about 30 minutes,” said driver Leonard Smith. “It’s not really been that bad. It’s been pretty constantly moving.”
At an Exxon nearby, the same bumper-to-bumper scene.
“Stations along Indian River are out of gas completely,” said driver Joseph Boris. “So, I said we have to just find a spot and wait in it.”
Still, folks said the overflow of cars didn’t bring out too much chaos.
“Everybody is kind of waiting patiently so far,” said driver Kathy Packer. “But you just don’t know which lanes to get in, or which ways people are going.”
The rush to fill up comes after the Colonial Pipeline -- which delivers 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel -- shut down due to a cyber-attack.
“A combination of computers locking out because of the ransomware and the owners of the computers shutting them down to prevent further spread,” said ODU Associate Professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. “With that, business stops.”
Pinto said when the pipeline will open is anyone’s guess.
“What we have seen in the past, it could take a couple of days to a couple of weeks,” Pinto said.
In the meantime, AAA officials urge drivers not to panic buy. They recommend filling up when there is only a quarter of a tank left.
Drivers hope the situation doesn’t rev up.
“It isn’t going to last long like this, as soon as the word gets out, that is all it will take,” Pittman said about the gas.
At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, staff at the BP said they ran out of all gas again, including diesel. They said the line was long all night and they aren’t sure when the next fuel truck will arrive.
Check out GasBuddy to find gas resources across Hampton Roads.