Originally Posted By: wildman800
I think your barter items might very well be "confiscated for the greater good" if you are in a shelter situation and the folks running the shelter learn that you have them.


ARRRGH! PLEASE LET ME DISPEL THAT MYTH RIGHT NOW. Anything is possible, but I assure you that it is exceedingly unlikely that anyone who is running any sort of sanctioned shelter (American Red Cross; Salvation Army; Federal, State or Local Gov’t, etc.) is going to seize anyone’s private property. Where do these notions get their start?

Now, if you try to bring in, say, alcohol or firearms, though, you will likely be asked to leave them in your car or otherwise remove them from the shelter, but you are then welcome to return. On the other hand, if you are the least bit discreet, I’ve never seen anyone get searched in a shelter, either.

First, the people running the shelter don’t need to take your stuff. There are logistics already in place from commercial and government channels. Second, there is no way to account for and utilize your stuff without seriously eroding efficiency. It’s just too complex to inventory, store and transport, and what if its deficient? poisoned? It ain't worth the time, hassle and ill-will. Third, they respect your rights and the Rule of Law is not suspended, nor is the Constitution revoked in times of emergency, and they’d really rather not get their asses sued off afterwards.

Let me explain how disaster logistics really work. We try to bring whatever we need in the short run with us, because we don’t know what will be available on-site. There are then two major logistics trains called into operation.

First is the Governmental/Military supply system. Many things are pre-positioned in caches and designated for disaster relief. Others are taken from supplies like war stocks or borrowed from government entities outside the disaster area according to pre-existing or contemporaneous interstate and other agreements.

Second is the commercial supply system. Just like when you run short of something, the major governmental and non-governmental entities just run down to Wal-Mart with their credit cards and get what they need. The same system that keeps the shelves of every local chain supermarket in America stocked daily can truck in tons and tons of supplies to a disaster area daily. In fact, most national chains plan for such calls in advance. Minor local needs are also sometimes handled by on site donations, and purchasing from local merchants. Another interesting method I have used is simply contacting the corporate or local operators of a heavily damaged medical facility or retail store, explaining who we are, and asking permission to collect what we need from inventory that is sure to be a total insurance write-off anyway.

Yeah, I know about the rogue cops (and, I suspect, some Blackwater Cowboys) seizing guns in NOLA. But that was aberrant criminal behavior, contrary to law, and pretty universally condemned thereafter. But criminal activity under color of authority is a problem during times of disaster just like it is any other time.

Jeff