What is a disaster? According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, a disaster is a sudden and calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the capacity of the community or society to cope. using its own resources. A disaster causes a major disruption to daily life. Disasters are unfortunately accompanied by looting. So, what exactly is looting? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Looting is the act of stealing things, usually in times of mass hysteria or panic. After a disaster, great fear and panic occurs and for some people, they are not ready and prepared for the disaster. In this article, we'll look at why people loot during disasters, famous disasters where looting has increased, and what can be done to solve the problem. Looting is also something that is not limited to just one type of disaster. Looting occurs during hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and earthquakes, to name a few. So the big question is why do people loot after a disaster? There are many different reasons why people feel the need to loot when a disaster strikes. One of the main reasons this is happening is the breakdown of society and our laws. When a disaster hits society, as we knew it, it collapses and people's morality and fear of getting into trouble disappears. People are also less likely to care about what is happening because they are worried about themselves and their families. There are also people who feel that they are entitled to these things and that they deserve them after the disaster. Another major reason is survival. When a disaster strikes, people are in need and distress and are therefore more prone to looting and theft for the survival of themselves and their families. There is also a theory called the phycology of looting which is part of the phenomenon of “group dynamics”. People will do things as members of a group that they would never consider appropriate on their own, such as stealing and breaking into stores and private homes. What major disasters have occurred where significant looting has occurred? One of the biggest storms that everyone knows about, during which a lot of looting took place, was Katrina. Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm on August 29, 2005 with winds gusting to 125 mph (200 km/h). Severe flood damage was caused in Gulfport, Mississippi, New Orleans, Louisiana, and areas in between. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most catastrophic disasters in history due to the number of deaths and cost. The total damage caused by Katrina is estimated at $108 billion. When the storm hit, it killed more than two thousand people, causing severe damage to the city and crime reaching an all-time high. It would take several days for the National Guard to arrive and the police were overwhelmed and could not handle all the crime and unrest that was occurring. The next storm I will mention is Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 storm that hit Texas on the 25thAugust 2017. It caused $125 billion in damage. Harvey made landfall three times in six days. At its peak on September 1, 2017, a third of Houston was underwater. Two feet of rain fell in the first 24 hours. The floods forced 39,000 people to leave their homes and take shelter in shelters. As in most disasters, looting occurred. There was a news article published that talked about a lady watching in shock as two boys walked out of a big box store with televisions. This is just one example of the type of looting that will occur after a disaster hits an area. After this storm, however, the mayor of Houston tried to combat this problem. The mayor imposed a curfew mainly because of the looting and the fact that the city didn't want it to happen. Nearly 200 people were charged with crimes after Hurricane Harvey hit the area. The last storm I'll talk about is Hurricane Sandy, a massive storm that caused significant wind and flooding damage. Flash flooding generated by the storm's incessant rains, strong winds and coastal storm surges killed 147 people and caused heavy damage. At its peak, the storm measured more than 900 miles in diameter. The storm caused more than $70 billion in damage in the United States. Like any other disaster, there was a lot of looting after Hurricane Sandy hit the area. Numerous press articles spoke of this looting. One owner said that when he returned home, he discovered that his barn lock had been cut and gasoline cans and ladders had been stolen. In Somerset County, broken glass littered the exteriors of more than a dozen businesses along a strip of Route 22 that had been left without power for nearly two weeks after the passage of the Hurricane Sandy. The next major hurricane I will talk about is Hurricane Hugo. During Hurricane Hugo in 1989, looting intensified. Only ten percent of businesses in the three largest shopping centers reported not being completely looted. It was also reported that there were primarily three types of looting: criminals who took consumer goods, noncriminals who primarily stole from hardware stores, and people who took goods from grocery stores to survive. These three hurricanes hit and looting occurred. Tornadoes are another disaster that accompanies hurricanes. Tornadoes can be just as devastating as hurricanes, causing significant damage and destruction. When the tornado hit Oklahoma in 2013, it killed 24 people and caused significant damage. It was reported that people were coming from all over to steal and loot the damage. The main items looted were copper wire, scrap metal and other items found in houses. This is just one tornado that could serve as an example, but there have been many tornadoes where looting occurred after the storm passed. Wildfires are a disaster that we don't often think about. We often see on the news major forest fires which threaten homes and cause the evacuation of neighborhoods. Although the evacuation period may be short, looting has nevertheless been reported from homes evacuated due to the fire. Another disaster where looting is also very high are earthquakes. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was just as severe, with looting and other disasters. The looters not only stole from stores but also from the dead. The mayor actually ordered the police to shoot..