LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A cyberattack on a critical U.S. pipeline is sending ripple effects across the economy.
The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, shut down Friday after a ransomware attack by a gang of criminal hackers that calls itself DarkSide. Depending on how long the shutdown lasts, the incident could impact millions of consumers.
The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline is mainly focused on the east coast of the country, but Kentucky is feeling its impacts too.
It's forcing people like Bob Riley, a co-owner of Riley Oil Company, a petroleum distribution business based in Richmond, Kentucky to get creative.
"We pull a lot of product out of Tennessee, so I'm having to pull product out of Lexington, Louisville, and northern Kentucky now," said Riley.
WHAS11 News has a link to a Gas Buddy tracker to save you time while looking for places to gas up your ride. You can search by Zipcode to find gas stations in your area in Kentucky or Indiana.
Triple-A and other consumer agencies are warning people not to panic buy.
Where is gas available in my area?
Anyone who needs to get gas can use this Gas Buddy Tracker to find out where the shortages are.
Just search for your zip code, and it will list which stations have fuel.
Search gas prices here
Lynda Lambert, Safety Advisor & Media Spokesperson at AAA, said there is no need to worry. She said there is ample supply of gasoline in the United States.
"There is plenty of gasoline in the United States. There is not a gasoline shortage," Lambert said, "It is a supply chain and distribution issue, which will get better when the pipeline reopens."
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