CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte is starting to feel the effects of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline as over 70 percent of gas stations in the metro area are out of fuel, according to a report.
Across the Queen City, drivers can find themselves pulling into a gas station that has grocery bags and ‘Sorry Out of Service’ covers on pump handles as locations run out of fuel.
On Wednesday morning, 71% percent of gas stations are out of fuel in the Charlotte metro area, according to GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan.
Charlotte is not the only area in North Carolina affected by fuel shortage – the Raleigh-area is seeing around 72 percent of stations out of gas and the Asheville-area into Spartanburg, South Carolina is up to 78 percent of gas stations without fuel.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper placed the state under a State of Emergency in response to the ransomware attack due to Colonial Pipeline being a primary fuel pipeline for the area.
The Colonial Pipeline said that they should be back up and running in a matter of days, but that doesn’t mean things will snap back to normal.
Gov. Cooper along with experts have advised citizens not to not panic buy fuel in the meantime.
According to GasBuddy, the Charlotte-metro area showed a reported 35% of gas stations were out of fuel as of 9:26 p.m. Tuesday and within less than 12 hours later the area saw an increase of 36% more gas stations without fuel as the percentage rose to 71.
