Lingering Effects of Disasters

Just because they don't make the front pages anymore, disasters continue to effect lives and daily activities; Montecito, CA, is still dealing with the mudslide which inundated that community last December.

Specifically, searches are ongoing for the bodies of two children lost in that event. A volunteer group, the Bucket brigade, has been assisting homeowners in digging out their homes (gratis) has turned their efforts to digging through the still existing piles of debris that still abound in the community. they are finding items that are returned to grateful owners.

I am sure people and communities affected by Florence are going through similar experiences.

This is rather startling contrast to the scenarios put forth in the usual "survivalist" sites in which chaos erupts following disasters, with hungry welfare supported mobs looting and pillaging.

That isn't to say that looting, or attempts at looting don't occur as disasters unfold, but they are usually fairly minor. And where is the line between looting (carting away flat screen TVs) and survival foraging (taking canned goods from a damaged, empty grocery store).

My experience has been that communities generally rally and support each other in the face of disaster.

My experience dovetails with yours Hikermor. There are always some people who will take advantage of a situation for personal benefit, but the vast majority will help each other out.

I will say, however, that a prolonged situation that has very strong and negative impacts can wear down societal structures and values and reduce many people to survival mode. Even then, there are some who will remain pro-social. I think it depends on leadership and group identities. These instances are more in the nature of wars and famines and not hurricanes, fires or earthquakes.