NAPLES, Fla. -- Florida residents are not taking any chances with Hurricane Wilma. Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency Thursday, and across the state's southwest coast yesterday, people began putting up shutters, buying canned goods and bottled water and waiting in lines at gas stations, reported the Associated Press.
And officials said they cleared tens of thousands of people from the low-lying Florida Keys. But some residents hope the storm will miss the state, and some forecasts show it doing so; however, forecasters at the National Hurricane [image-nocss] Center think Wilma will be a Category 2 storm when it hits Florida sometime Sunday, although they are not sure exactly where.
Although Wilma's uncertain timing has taken some of the edge off a rush to the gas pumps, local retailers were expecting a spike in demand as the storm moves within striking distance, added a report by the Miami Herald.
We haven't seen pump panic yet, but I have a great deal of faith in the citizens of Florida, and I'm sure panic will begin any time now, Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, which represents about 5,600 retail outlets, told the newspaper.
Gas stations already were getting ready for the usual prestorm rush, said the report. Albert Flores, the manager of Floval Oil, which distributes gas to 82 retailers in South Florida, said demand was picking up. If we're normally at 100%, then we're at about 130% right now, he told the paper.
South Florida's petroleum lifeline, Port Everglades, has been given a 72-hour hurricane notice by the Coast Guard, said spokesperson Ellen Kennedy. When it gets the 24-hour noticewhich could come as early as Friday, according to the Heraldthe port will close and tanker ships will be sent to sea, but fuel can still be hauled out of the installation.
The port received five tanker shipments Tuesday, the report said, and a few more are slated for the next 48 hours, which should guarantee supplies, said Kennedy.
Surveying the lazy traffic and unused pumps at the Shell station on Fifth Street in South Beach, Manager Adrian Palma said he expected the usual snarls and backups starting Friday or Saturday. People always wait until the last minute, he told the paper.
Click here for the National Weather Services' National Hurricane Center.
Click here for Weather.com updates on Hurricane Wilma.
Click here for the state of Florida's Hurricane Preparedness website.
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