By Karrah Johnson
In the midst of Hurricane Irma, the high demand for gas station services ultimately left gas stations themselves vulnerable and in need.
“After people started looting, we requested for the police to be here and they declined,” said Ravi, the manager of a Sunoco gas station on 49th St.
As gasoline demand peaked in South St. Petersburg, many independently owned gas stations had to close down and suffer economic losses on their own. Corporate-owned gas stations, however, are less affected when they follow their required disaster plans.
CLICK HERE TO SEE SHELL’S DISASTER PLAN
“The government was no help,” said the owner of a Chevron on 34th St., John Attia. “We had really bad damage, and any small amount you lose is up to you.”
After speaking to many gas station owners, there was an overall theme that their employees were well taken care of. At several gas stations in Child’s Park, the owner wanted their people to be safe and told them to do whatever they needed to do feel secure.
The Chevron gas station where Attia works suffered power losses that lead to products going bad and expiring before the expected date.
“We had $5,000 in damages. We had to throw away so much candy, milk, and other things,” Attia added.
He also explained that one small box of candy costs $25.30 per case and before the hurricane he had bought 25 cases, just for the candy that is the cheapest item in the convenience store. The gas station lacked gasoline and went through a power outage for an entire week.
At the moment he was interviewed, Attia explained that they were still struggling to recover. People would drive by looking for gasoline, but there was still no power or fully stocked products ready for consumption.
“We are kind of okay, but it still takes time. This area is my neighborhood. Thank God I have a good relationship”, explained Attia referring to the looting other areas in South Florida experienced. This, however, was not the case for Ravi on 49th Street.
He explained that they had to use their own money to offer security in their store, and “some nights they could not have any because it was it was too dangerous and no one was available to guard the area”.
“Sometimes we would have to pay ex-service men extra money for security, we had to pay them at least twenty dollars an hour,” added Ravi.
The gas station experienced looting and a damaged gutter that caused interior leaking. The S. Petersburg local explains that although the outside the business shows minor losses, government officials don’t identify the actual damages. A few streets away, the Shell station on 34th was fortunate. A frequent customer of the station, Wyatt Malatino said, “They were open on Sunday morning.” The station gave way to more services, besides selling gasoline by offering food to locals in needs.
Store owner Belal Saed said, “The day after the storm my store was completely wiped out because everyone else was closed even the corporate gas stations. No one was open.” This store only lost power for about two hours, but, “We had generators, so even if we lost power we still had something to keep us going, said Saed.
The store owner added that their profit numbers were at an all-time high, especially because they kept their deli open. “No one else was cooking. No McDonald’s, no Burger King. We were the only ones.”
He goes on to say that it was very upsetting how a lot of people went out of business because of the storm, but it was good for him because he gained many customers and helped so many people in a time of need.
Edited by Lauren Brogan, Kaycee Anderson, Kayla Jensen, and Andrea Perez