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 that exceed the capacity of the community or society to cope with it. using their own resources. A catastrophe causes a serious disruption to everyday life. Unfortunately, along with disasters comes looting. So what exactly is looting? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Looting is the act of stealing items usually in a time of mass hysteria or panic. Great fear and panic occurs after a disaster occurs and for some people they are not ready and prepared for the disaster. In this article we will look at why people loot during disasters, famous disasters where looting was rampant, and what can be done to fix 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 strikes? There are many different reasons why people feel the need to loot when a disaster has struck. One of the main reasons we see this happen is because we have a breakdown of society and our laws. When disaster strikes society, as we knew, it collapses and people's morals and fear of getting into trouble vanish. 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 they are entitled to these things and deserve them after the disaster has struck. Another important reason is survival. When a disaster strikes, people are in need and in difficulty and therefore are more willing to loot and steal in order for them and their family to survive. There is also a theory called looting psychology which is part of the “group dynamics” phenomenon. People, as part of a group, do things that they would never consider appropriate on their own, such as stealing and breaking into shops and private homes. What are some of the major disasters that have occurred in places where great looting has occurred? One of the biggest storms that everyone knows about and where massive looting occurred was Katrina. Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm on August 29, 2005 with winds of 127 mph. There was severe flood damage 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 victims and costs. The total damage from Katrina is estimated at $108 billion. When the storm hit, it killed over two thousand people, causing severe damage to the city, and crime skyrocketed to an all-time high. It would take the National Guard several days to arrive and the police were overwhelmed and unable to 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 August 25, 2017. It caused $125 billion in damage. Harvey landed three times in six days. At its peak on September 1, 2017, a third of Houston was underwater. Half a meter of rain fell in the first 24 hours. Floods haveforced 39,000 people to leave their homes and take refuge in shelters. As with most disasters, looting occurred. An article was published in which a lady watched in shock as two boys walked out of a department store carrying a TV. This is just one example of the type of looting that occurs after a disaster hits an area. After this storm, the mayor of Houston tried to combat this problem. The mayor imposed the curfew largely because of the looting and the fact that the city did not want this 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 was a massive storm that caused significant wind and flood damage. Flash floods generated by the storm's incessant rains, strong winds and coastal storm surges killed 147 people and caused severe damage. At its greatest extent, the storm measured more than 900 miles across. The storm caused more than $70 billion in damage in the United States. Just like in any other disaster, after Hurricane Sandy hit the area, there was heavy looting. There were many newspaper articles talking about the looting. One homeowner said they returned home to find that their barn had the lock cut off and that gas cans and ladders had been stolen. In Somerset County, there was shattered glass strewn outside more than a dozen businesses along a stretch of Route 22 that was without power for nearly two weeks after Hurricane Sandy. The next major hurricane I will talk about is Hurricane Hugo. During Hurricane Hugo in 1989, looting increased. Only 10% of businesses in the three largest malls reported that they had not been completely looted. It was also reported that mainly three types of looting occurred; criminals who stole consumer goods, non-criminals who stole primarily from hardware stores, and people who stole from grocery stores out of survival needs. These three were hurricanes that hit and looting occurred. Another disaster that accompanies hurricanes are tornadoes. Tornadoes can be as devastating as hurricanes and cause great damage and destruction. When the tornado hit Oklahoma in 2013 it killed 24 people and caused extensive damage. It was reported that people came from all over to steal and loot the damage. Some of the main things that were looted were copper wires, scrap metal, and other items from houses. This is just one tornado that could be used as an example, but there have been numerous tornadoes where looting occurred after the storm. One disaster we don't often think about is fires. We often see on the news large fires that threaten homes and cause neighborhoods to be evacuated. While the evacuation period may be short, looting has still been reported in homes evacuated due to the fire. Another disaster where looting is also very heavy are earthquakes. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was just as severe with looting as other disasters. Looters would not only steal from stores but also from the dead. The mayor actually ordered the police to shoot anyone caught looting and so they did. During the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the most common crime was mass looting. Due to the death and destruction of communities, possessions were exposed and easily stolen by looters. During the 2003 Bam earthquake, looting was the highest in the 72 hours following the disaster. The looters, that they were.