Over $4 gallon gas in two weeks

[Puma]

You ready for this? OPEC says there is @ 2mil bpd overproduction; New Orleans and 1/3 of our domestic production is about to get whacked; oil futures in Asia and EU already up $4 barrel; some rumours on GLP that NY will kick off at $10+ monday morning.

[Мастер]

Undoubtedly that's why the gubmint created this hurricane...

[Candy]

United is planning to exit bankruptcy soon. I hope we will be okay. I like my job.

[Puma]

Just reported: two parishes and FOUR refineries in Lousiana under as much as 12 feet of water...reports of people trapped in thier attics and on roofs...THIS IS VERY BAD NEWS...rescuers at this point are still unable to enter the area due to storm is still raging...I am very much afraid that the body count will be unbeleivable...

People, it is entirely possible that this storm will break the backs of the insurance industry...

Those refineries will be off-line for many months...and there are still no concrete reports of damage to oil production in the gulf...

Some news reports are stating that authorities are telling residents not to return as they will find a wasteland.....

This will affect the entire U.S.....

[Candy]

Just reported: two parishes and FOUR refineries in Lousiana under as much as 12 feet of water...

I hate to ask, but isn't this a job that death is expected? I mean, isn't, working in a refinery just a dangerous job, period?

[neocracker]

Gas went from $2.54 a gallon to $2.75 in Savannah between lunch time and 6:00 PM. Mercifully, I filled up at lunch time when the cheapest was $2.48.

[Puma]

Refineries are dangerous places, yes...it's just as dangerous as being a passnger at 35,000 ft...

Those refineries were shut down before the storm hit...the flooding that is hitting the residents who wouldn't or couldn't leave is the real story...the flooding hit with the storm surge...imagine the storm raging outside and flood water coming in at a rising rate of feet per minute...people will retreat to higher points in thier home...in some cases..the attic...and yet the water keeps rising...the stuff of disaster movies..only it's really happening...it comes down to making a choice...hope the water doesn't come any higher and be drowned or...go out into the storm...I am really praying that we don't wind up with a hideous death toll.

Just checked satellite imaging...I have family in Mississippi...they're in the thick of it now...Praying for thier safety.

[Candy]

I'm sorry, how many people died?

And how many lived?

[Puma]

The death toll stands at 12...rescuers are only recently able to move into the affected areas...this is deaths from when it crossed Florida and deaths that occurred during the evac...I'm sure the news tomorrow morning will be grim.

Candy, I'm not picking on you; you have to experience a hurricane to really understand its danger. By my count, I have been thru 9. One hurricane when I was 16 was a Cat 4. Our house was blown apart by the time the eye passed over and we barely made it to a shelter when the storm resumed. The storm began at about 4pm and was not over until about 8am the next day.

[MM_Dandy]

Some news reports are stating that authorities are telling residents not to return as they will find a wasteland.....

Which authorities are these? I can see them asking residents to delay their return for up to a few weeks or even months, but I don't understand why'd they ask them not to return at all.

This will affect the entire U.S.....

Natural disasters have a tendancy of doing such things.

Here's just a few places that are helping to ease the negative impacts...
American Red Cross
The Salvation Army
National Relief Network

[Candy]

Candy, I'm not picking on you; you have to experience a hurricane to really understand its danger.

I'm starting to understand, Puma. :(

[Cl1mh4224rd]

Just reported: two parishes and FOUR refineries in Lousiana under as much as 12 feet of water...reports of people trapped in thier attics and on roofs...THIS IS VERY BAD NEWS...

I'm not trying to lessen the impact of a serious natural disaster, but please don't go all "mainstream media" on us. We're all keenly aware, I hope, of the destructive power of Mother Nature. Of course it's "VERY BAD NEWS"; that's what category 5, landfall hurricanes are.

rescuers at this point are still unable to enter the area due to storm is still raging...I am very much afraid that the body count will be unbeleivable...

Do you feel the body count as a result of Katrina will be more "unbelievable" than the Boxing Day tsunami?

That being said, I think it sucks...bad, but at the same time I'm not naive enough to be "shocked" at whatever the results of any hurricane may be.

People, it is entirely possible that this storm will break the backs of the insurance industry...

Highly doubtful...

Some news reports are stating that authorities are telling residents not to return as they will find a wasteland.....

As was mentioned, I also find it most likely that the authorities would have people stay away for now, because, honestly... they don't need any more random people wandering around and getting themselves into trouble by entering buildings that structurally unsound.

This will affect the entire U.S.....

It usually does, to some extent...

Slightly off-topic: I really hate this idea that the media has to "feed" you emotion as if the viewer is incapable of knowing what to feel on their own. Really, it's not just the mainstream media, either.

[Мастер]

People, it is entirely possible that this storm will break the backs of the insurance industry...

Highly doubtful...

Don't know what kind of financial shape the insurance industry is in, but if they can't handle a major hurricane every bunch of years or so, I'd say they're not keeping adequate reserves...

[Puma]

It is now Sept 3rd. I'm not trying to usurp the media; they are controlled and not telling the whole truth anyway.

Diesel in my area jumped 52 cents overnight.
Reports of 58 rigs, platforms and other facilities damaged, lost and missing.
No diesel for sale in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio (web report).
Gas shortages and station closings in Florida and same was just reported in Arizona (web report) and there will be more of this in the coming days.
Reports on web of possible truckers strike on Sept. 7th.
Insurance reports possible losses of 25 billion; uninsured losses estimated
at 75 billion.
Business losses for New Orleans estimated at 100 million per day.

The fubar effort in New Orleans may be a prelude to something more sinister: diseases being spread nationwide.

Enjoy the Labor Day Weekend, folks. Our troubles have begun.[/i]

[Bill EE]

I have to say I am getting a little sick and tried of the all the doom and gloom - was it bad, HELL YES! New Orleans has known for over 40 years that this was possible - I was there in the floods of May 1983. The first floor of the building I rented an apartment in was completely flooded out. It took three days to get "help." Despite this knowledge they let building take place on the lowest levels of the city. They failed to put backup generators on all the city pumps. They moved away from the traditional building technique of having the first floor open to prevent flooding of the habital areas. The city failed to stock the Superdome and Convention center with food and water - instead they asked the residents (mostly poor) to bring their own. This is a complete and utter failure of the city and state governments to act for protection of their citizens.

The insurance industry, as a whole, has reserves of over 400+ Billion dollars - this isn't going to kill the industry. When they start taking the money out of the bond and markets there are going to be some collateral losses (the value of your 401(k), IRA, or other investments will probably go down in the short term). But, as the rebuilding efforts get started you will see, just like with Andrew, a resurgance in New Orleans and the Gulf states with the rebuilding boom.

As I have said before, New Orleans is my second home and I have been VERY depressed by this but this isn't the end of New Orleans or the US.

[zebo-the-fat]

$4.00 per gallon, I wish!

A quick esimate shows that in the UK we are paying just over $7.00 per US gallon :(

(70+ % of that is tax for our glorious leaders!!)

[Cl1mh4224rd]

Well, it's now been 2 weeks since Katrina made landfall and still no $4/gallon gas in the U.S.. In fact, in my area, prices have recently dropped $.30 after peaking at $3.19 (I saw one station at $3.24).

I really don't expect them to get any lower, though...

[neocracker]

From a peak of $2.99 to $3.19 in Savannah for 87UL, gas prices have slowly dropped to roughly $2.69 a gallon.

I dread seeing what 100LL for the plane costs - mercifully, both tanks are now full with 55 gallons of autogas (yes, it's legal).

[Мастер]

$3.28 for 87 octane today...

[Candy]

I filled the tank up with $2.99 on the way to work yesterday. The closer I got to HQ, the prices had dropped to $2.93.

[Cl1mh4224rd]

I filled the tank up with $2.99 on the way to work yesterday. The closer I got to HQ, the prices had dropped to $2.93.

Ohh, I hate that... Monday, on my way back from class, I stopped at a station whose price was $2.99. The stations closer to my house, however, were $2.89.

A definite "d'oh!" moment...

[ToSeek]

Gas prices in this area over Labor Day weekend were as high as $3.70 a gallon for regular. But it's dropped a lot since then and is gradually easing downwards: I filled up early in the week for $3.15, and it's now down to $3.05.

[Candy]

Now, the prices have dropped again. Last night, I saw $2.88 at the same station by HQ's.

[Superluminal]

$2.67 in Texarkana. :P

[neocracker]

$ 2.79 in Pittsburgh, PA (ok, Moon Township)
$ 2.49 to 2.69 in Savannah, GA - lower price is probably the result of the fifteen cent tax rollout back Gov. Perdue authorized after Katrina.

However, look for it to spike again if Rita slams into the Texas gulf coast.