Trouble does not come alone: how hurricanes and other disasters bring with them waves of looting
Hurricane Florence is raging in the States, which has already killed at least 18 people. Due to the strong wind, millions of homes were left without electricity. And although the hurricane weakened to the level of a tropical depression, large water continues to arrive, flooding more and more territories.
Alas, but the troubles in such cases are not only from bad weather. Often, when the elements subside a little, criminals, taking advantage of the situation, rob shops and houses. So far, there have been no such cases related to Florence, but, as history proves, this is a common practice in such a situation.
Hurricane Harvey, riots in Los Angeles and a power outage in New York in the 70s. How waves of looting captured the United States in the past, read in our material.
In the last days of summer 2017 in Houston, Texas, after the passage of tropical storm Harvey, almost two dozen people were arrested on suspicion of looting empty houses and shops. A curfew has been imposed in the Texas capital to prevent looting.
In September 2017, after the passage of Hurricane Irma, which was also called "the strongest hurricane of the decade," the Caribbean was overwhelmed by a wave of looting. For example, the island of St. Martin (pictured), an overseas territory of France and the Netherlands, after the passage of the elements became a hotbed of violence, so the army and police were sent here. The UK has also declared an emergency in the Virgin Islands and deployed troops to its overseas territory — the island of Anguilla, which was also badly affected by the hurricane.
Irma also pretty much battered Florida. At the same time, looters helped the elements to smash the city, so a curfew was imposed in Miami-Dade County.
In Florida, pogroms and robberies began during the passage of the elements. They continued even after the bad weather subsided.
Publication from (@hypealot) Sep 11, 2017 at 8:59AM PDT
Young men and girls carry boxes of shoes, clothes and appliances out of the building in whole packages. In a few minutes, they practically emptied the warehouse, loaded the loot into the cars and left. Some of them covered their faces with hoods, others did not even consider it necessary to hide.
Miami-Dade County police in Florida detained 28 people for theft and looting during Hurricane Irma.
Psychologist-sexologist Veronika Stepanova, who lives in Miami, showed the consequences of the hurricane and compared the United States with Russia, where "everything would be torn down and taken out."
Unfortunately, everything is not so rosy. Looting in America has its own long and bloody history. Over the past forty years, the United States has experienced at least three large-scale waves of looting and pogroms.
The first was a power outage in New York City in the period from July 13 to July 14, 1977, which was accompanied by mass robberies, arson and other riots.
The economic crisis of the 1970s led to the impoverishment of residents of the "black" neighborhoods of New York. The power outage was perceived by them as an opportunity to expropriate the property of wealthy citizens. Unprecedented mass looting has begun in the central quarters of Manhattan. Robbers attacked shops and houses of wealthy residents of the city. To distract the attention of the police, looters set fire to buildings — 1077 arson attacks were registered in the city. During the 1977 power outage, the police arrested over four thousand people.
The second wave of looting occurred in the riots in Los Angeles, provoked by the brutal beating of black Rodney King (April 29 - May 4, 1992).
Then literally military actions began on the streets: what began as a black riot turned into skirmishes, looting, arson and looting, in which representatives of all races were involved. In Los Angeles, more than 5,500 buildings burned down, hundreds of stores were destroyed, and the total damage caused to retail chains was estimated at $ 1.2 billion. Riots spread to San Francisco. Over a hundred shops were looted there.
Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed New Orleans in the period from August 28 to August 29, 2005, gave rise to the third large-scale wave of looting in modern US history.
At night, New Orleans became a war zone where street gangs fought among themselves and weakened police forces. On the windows of many shops it was written in paint: "Fire will be opened on the looters." The special services were given the right to shoot robbers directly from helicopters, but the exact number of those killed in the process of plundering after Hurricane Katrina is still unknown.