The storm, which lashed Louisiana with rain on Thursday, has pummeled the U.S. Gulf Coast, immersing Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area in several feet of water and forcing the closure of about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity. And on Thursday, Colonial Pipeline, which owns the largest pipeline for gas distribution in the US, had planned to shut down its gasoline line because Gulf Coast refiners were unable to process crude oil, Bloomberg reported. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) is the largest shareholder in Phillips 66 
 
 The Energy Department said it will "continue to provide assistance as deemed necessary," including more potential drawdowns from the emergency reserve. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2xzsKWz) 
 
 About 4.4 million barrels of U.S. refining capacity have been shut by Harvey, including the nation’s largest refiner, Motiva Port Arthur, which can process more than 600,000 barrels a day. On Thursday morning, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was $2.462, up almost 2 cents from yesterday and 11 cents from last week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.
– Hurricane Harvey has devastated Texas, and it's also bringing bad news for drivers across the nation. Harvey's impact on the Gulf Coast caused several major refineries and a key gasoline pipeline to shut down, the AP reports. What that means: Prices are on the rise: Per GasBuddy, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US was $2.469 Thursday afternoon. That's up 2.3 cents from Wednesday, 11.7 cents from last week, 15.1 cents from last month, and 24.3 cents from last year. They're even higher in some areas: Reuters, citing AAA data, says fuel prices in Georgia and North Carolina are up 17 cents a gallon from a week ago; in South Carolina, almost 20 cents. And they're likely to go higher: Per Business Insider, gas futures for both September and October are up. In fact, Thursday was their eighth straight day of gains, their longest rising streak in four years. There's also the problem of gas availability: The AP reports that QuikTrip, one of the biggest convenience store chains in the country, is going to stop selling gas entirely at about half of its stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in anticipation of shortages. Even locations that have gas may run out: The Star-Telegram reports that convenience store operators and gasoline retailers are warning there's a major chance some Texas locations will run out of gas this weekend due to supply chain disruptions. Specifics on those disruptions: Colonial, the largest pipeline operator in the country, has shut down key fuel lines (AL.com) and Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the biggest in the country, may be closed for as long as two weeks (CNBC). Some of the other refineries and pipelines affected are starting back up, CNBC reports. A dire quote: "Hurricane Harvey has potentially cut US fuel-making capacity to the lowest level since 2008," per Bloomberg. And another: "This is going to be the worst thing the US has seen in decades from an energy standpoint," a market analyst tells Reuters. What's being done to help: Per Bloomberg, the EPA is exempting many southeastern states from requirements that they use fuel meeting clean-air standards. And CNNMoney reports the Trump administration is tapping the emergency US oil reserve; the Energy Department will send 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Phillips 66 refinery in Louisiana. That could help with gas prices.