An employee at the Exxon in Columbus said it&squo;s &dquo;been a mad house&dquo; as consumers have quickly gone through the gas when it&squo;s available. The employee said the station has received less gas than it normally does because shipments are being split between multiple stations.

The Exxon and other stations said they ran out before getting new shipments, and they expected they might run out again before the next delivery. The Hot Spot in Landrum was out of gas on Monday morning.

At the Texaco in Columbus, an employee said people are calling from South Carolina to see if gas is available. On Monday the Texaco station had only premium, but at $4.22 a gallon it was cheaper than the high of $4.69 a gallon for regular at Ingles in Landrum.

Gas stations indicated they were unsure when they would receive their next deliveries or how much they would receive. But some employees said they expect the shortage to ease later this week as consumers realize that gas is available.

AAA Carolinas issued a statement Monday (see article page 5) noting that Hurricane Ike did disrupt gasoline supply when it hit Texas over the weekend, but urged consumers to avoid &dquo;panic pumping.&dquo;

AAA added that gasoline is available in the region and supply should reach pre-Ike levels in seven to 10 days.