New York rations gasoline, electric outages mount

NEW YORK (AFP) - New York announced gasoline rationing on Thursday to address a fuel crisis sparked by superstorm Sandy, as tens of thousands more people lost electricity and officials prepared to deploy emergency mobile homes.

Echoing 1970s energy shortages, America’s biggest city and financial capital was to restrict sales starting at 6am (9pm Singapore time) on Friday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced. He did not say when the measure would end.

Cars with license plates ending in odd numbers will be allowed to fill up on odd-numbered dates. Cars with plates ending in an even number or a zero will be eligible on even-numbered days, with police deployed to enforce the rules.

Officials hoped the move would cut enormous lines of increasingly desperate drivers at city gas stations, a shortage that has created a black market where unscrupulous online sellers offer fuel at more than twice the industry rate.