Gas shortages are disappearing in Tuscaloosa just three days after a massive tornado hit the city.
The Chevron station on Lurleen Wallace Boulevard, which was bombarded late Wednesday night being one of the few stations with power, has been able to refill its pumps since the storm.
Jim Johnson, an employee of the MapCo station on the corner of Skyland Boulevard and Highway 359, one of the most popular gas stations in Tuscaloosa, said they have not had any problem with gas shortage, despite consistently hosting 50 cars at its station throughout Thursday.
“People just panicked,” Johnson said. “There’s plenty of gas in the pumps.”
Johnson said Saturday that the massive crowds at the pumps have died down to about the normal amount of customers.
Although shortages are less of a threat, prices remain inflated. Many gas stations, including the Chevron on Lurleen and the BP on University Boulevard, are currently selling gas at $3.79 per gallon. Abbie Rowe, an employee of that BP, said they had to increase the price by 10 cents per gallon in the last day.
There is a line of stations on Skyland, however, that are currently selling at $3.69 per gallon. Mary Green, an attendant at Citgo on Skyland, said her station is selling for that price simply to help out their customers who are in need.
“We’re trying to hold ours at 3.69 because we know everyone’s having a hard time,” she said. “We are taking a loss. We’ll have to [raise them] eventually.”