TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush said he has concerns about the availability of gasoline in Florida if Hurricane Rita slams into refineries in Texas.

But Bush is urging Floridians not to go out and, in his words, "fill up every container" they have.

Bush said Floridians should be conserving gas to help get through a short-term shortage.

Florida gets most of its gas from refineries along the Gulf coast than other places in the country. If those refineries take a major hit, the problem is bigger in Florida than many other states.

For about a week after Katrina hit Aug. 29th, gas supplies were disrupted and in some places in the Florida Panhandle gas was hard to find.

Prices Expected To Surge

Hurricane Rita has the potential to push gas prices over $3 a gallon as it continues to spin toward some of the nation's largest refineries, according to a Local 6 News report.

Federal officials said 18 Texas oil refineries are in Rita's projected path, according to reports.

Officials said massive refineries owned by BP and Shell have shut down operations and evacuated employees. Hundreds of workers were evacuated from offshore oil rigs.

Refineries in Rita's path face shut downs from power outages that could keep them offline after the storm.

The head of the nation's biggest maker of gasoline, Valero Energy Corp., said Rita's impact on oil refineries and oil production could be a national disaster, according to a Reuters report.

Some analysts are predicting gas will jump to $3.50 or possible $5 a gallon if Rita continues on its current path, Local 6 News reporter Jessica Sanchez said.

Oil and gas prices rose sharply Wednesday as oil traders worried that Rita could have a similar impact as Hurricane Katrina when prices hit record numbers.

Rita is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, making this the fourth-busiest season since record-keeping started in 1851.

The record is 21 tropical storms in 1933. Six hurricanes have hit Florida in the last 13 months.

The hurricane season started June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.