"Your Supplies Probably Won’t Be Stolen in a Disaster" by jefftk
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"Your Supplies Probably Won’t Be Stolen in a Disaster" by jefftk
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About this listen
Looking at past disasters, people mostly fall somewhere on a "kind and supportive" to "keep to themselves" spectrum. When there is looting it's typically directed at stores, not homes, and violence is mostly in the streets. Having supplies at home lets you stay out of the way.
One distinction it's worth making is between short (hurricane, earthquake) and long (siege, economic collapse, famine) disasters. Having what you need at home is really helpful in both cases, but differently so.
In short disasters (1917 Halifax explosion, London Blitz, 1985 Mexico City earthquake, and the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami) you typically see sharing and mutual aid. Stored supplies mean you're not competing for scarce resources, have slack to help others, and make you more comfortable.
Stories of looting in situations like this are often exaggerated or cherry-picked. I had heard post-Katrina New Orleans had [...]
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First published:
April 23rd, 2026
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cNnRmwzQgz4bmd5i9/your-supplies-probably-won-t-be-stolen-in-a-disaster
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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