In the wake of the Hurricane Sandy, the Obama administration authorized the Pentagon on Friday to bring 24 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel to staging areas in New Jersey to help alleviate fuel shortages in the region, The New York Times reports. The shortages have been caused by the lack of power at the majority of gas stations and by continued panic-buying by the public, industry officials told The Times. The amount of fuel is what 800,000 vehicles with 15 gallon tanks would use.
The Pentagon was also authorized to draw down as much as 2 million gallons of diesel fuel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to help emergency responders keep generators, water pumps, and other services running, according to The Times. Earlier on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security temporarily lifted a prohibition on foreign-flagged ships from delivering fuel at American ports.
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