Governor Roy Cooper ordered the temporary suspension of “motor vehicle fuel regulations” in order to preserve the remaining fuel in the state.
Grow Your Business,
Not Your Inbox
Stay informed and join our daily newsletter now!
May
11, 2021
3 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
North Carolina has declared a state of emergency after a cyberattack struck a crucial pipeline on the East Coast.
Governor Roy Cooper ordered for the temporary suspension of “motor vehicle fuel regulations” in order to preserve the remaining fuel in the southern state.
Related: Crocs is Donating 40,000 Free Shoes to Healthcare Workers. Want a Pair?
The Colonial Pipeline, which is responsible for delivering nearly half of the fuel that is consumed across the East Coast, carries about 3 million barrels of fuel per day from Texas all the way to New York.
The pipeline was hit by Darkside ransomware in an attack that temporarily locked and suspended the company’s computer systems, the FBI confirmed in a statement.
Drivers across North Carolina and up the East Coast are already feeling the effects of the shut down, with many lining up for ‘hours’ in order to fuel their cars.
Some gas stations and providers have already run out of fuel supply.
At least two gas stations in Tallahassee, Florida, were completely out of stock, according to employees who asked not to be named. In Asheville, North Carolina, Aubrey Clements, a clerk at an Exxon Mobil station answered the phone with “Hello, I’m currently out of gas” – BBG
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 11, 2021
Prices at other stations have already skyrocketed to nearly $10 per gallon.
Gas Shortage in North Carolina going to haves busting out the huffy bike and tell the family hop on the pegs #gasshortage pic.twitter.com/Vu6YZb7xJF
— Victor Rodriguez (@TheFranchiseX2) May 11, 2021
Colonial Pipeline released statements on their website which has since crashed, presumably due to a high volume of traffic.
We are experiencing temporary service disruptions to our corporate website, and it is unrelated to the ransomware. We continue to make progress on our system restart plan, and will provide an update when our website is restored.
— Colonial Pipeline (@Colpipe) May 11, 2021
“We are experiencing temporary service disruptions to our corporate website, and it is unrelated to the ransomware,” the company said.
Governor Cooper added that he spoke with federal officials “including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm” and that there is currently a “full court press to get the Colonial Pipeline back up and fully operating quickly.”
He urged residents to “report price gouging” as the situation continues to unfold.