Gas shortages loom as Floridians flee from Hurricane Milton

(NewsNation) — As hundreds of thousands flee Florida ahead of its second major hurricane in two weeks, though traffic backups and gas shortages are posing a problem for evacuees.

Following evacuation orders in 11 counties of Florida's west coast, the exodus has left roughly 16 percent of the state's fuel stations without gas.

The now-Category 5 Hurricane Milton transformed from a Category 1 to a Category 5 on Monday alone, later downgrading on Tuesday morning before gaining strength once again in the Gulf of Mexico.

“If you’re going to get out, get out now,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) urged on Tuesday. “You have time today. Time will be running out."

As of 11 a.m. ET, more than 1,200 of the state's 7,912 total gas stations had gone dry, according to GasBuddy, which tracks fuel prices in real-time across North America.

It's a dramatic jump from Monday's numbers, which showed only 3 percent of Florida's service stations without fuel.

The Fort Myers, Tampa Bay and Orlando areas, which are expected to receive the worst of Milton's impact sometime on Wednesday, recorded some of the highest amounts of out-of-commission stations.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, told MarketWatch that a majority of the evacuees are trying to head north on one of two major highways, which he called a "challenging situation."

De Haan recommends stopping at the supersized travel stops along the freeway, as they likely have more resources to deliver fuel to massive amounts of people.

Milton will hammer Florida just weeks after Hurricane Helene made a major impact in the Big Bend region, traveling northwest and devastating communities in America's southeast. Helene is estimated to have killed at least 230 and left thousands more still unaccounted for or missing.

Florida's goal is to clean up as much of the Helene debris as possible before Milton makes landfall. One of the state's top fears for Milton is that it will kick back up the debris left behind by Helene and cause further damage to the community.

However, due to the excessive debris, DeSantis has urged residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate now before it's too late.