CAPE CORAL, Fla. — As Hurricane Idalia makes its way through the Gulf of Mexico, residents like Maria Rivera are just trying to get some gas.

She’s filling up because of Idalia’s potential impact on our community, “we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

But with her eyes on the weather radars, Rivera said, “This (rain) is from the hurricane definitely, I usually follow the hurricanes since the beginning.”

Rivera has lived in Cape Coral for the last 18 years, but she’s originally from Puerto Rico, so hurricanes are nothing new.

“I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as Hurricane Ian, but I feel okay. I’ve been through a lot of them; I saw a lot of them when I lived in Puerto Rico.”

While the pump she stopped at wasn’t packed, and she was able to fill up, that’s not the case at other gas stations in Southwest Florida.

Claudio Baten of Fort Myers was just trying to get home but needed to fill up on the way. He said, “It’s on my way to go home, right around here, but the gas pump is not working.”

He’s trying to prepare in case Idalia picks up steam, but an empty pump is forcing residents like himself to look elsewhere to fill up.

“I guess I’ve got to cross to the other street,” said Baten.