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The local hardware stores instituted price freezes. I don't like price freezes because they don't allow one to adjust for Supply and Demand. Home Depot stopped bringing in the consumer grade generators and had plenty of commercial grade generators for $1100+ -- If you really had to have one, it was available.
Gas cans sold out within minutes of being unloaded from the truck at $8/5 gallon can. I saw people walking out with 10 or more -- whatever they could stuff in their cart. If you need 50 gallons of gas, then you need a larger tank. So, the hardware stores (and every other store) sold out very quickly. If they had put the gas cans at $20 each, I'll bet people wouldn't have bought more than they needed, thus, keeping the supply available for the people that needed them.
Same thing with bread and non-perishables. The stores were cleaned out two days before and after Frances. How much toilet paper does a household need for a week without power? Again, people were buying more toilet paper than they could have used in a year. Is this the new currency of the post-hurricane world?
Gas lines were incredible, propane was limited to 1 tank per person -- which really sucked since I had collected the tanks from neighbors and figured I'd make a run and get 4 tanks exchanged. No amount of explaining worked and by the time I got back home, and they got back, propane was gone. I talked with someone who waited in line for 2.5 hours to get gas. I said, "Where are you headed tomorrow?" -- "oh, I'm off work for a week or until power is restored" I couldn't help but think that he wasted 2.5 hours. The next day, the lines at the pump were 3-4 cars deep and he could have saved 2.5 hours.
I never saw ice or water marked up, but then I never saw any available. Even FEMA was handing out 3 bags per car & 1 case of water -- but after two hours, they helicoptered in National Guard to prevent riots when they ran out.
It really was incredible to watch the transition of civilized people to savages after a few days. One local woman was arrested for attacking the manager of a gas station because they ran out of gas before she was able to get gas.
Friends of ours said -- with Andrew, even though their house was damaged pretty badly, they could drive 20 minutes to eat dinner at a restaurant. With Frances, I couldn't find restaurants within 45 miles of here that were open. Then, after they had power restored, they generally had no food that was able to be served and had to wait for a shipment. The local Wendy's was handing out cans of soda with ice when they opened. McDonalds was on a 'Hurricane' menu -- offering Hamburgers, double Hamburgers, Quarter Pounder, Big Mac without Cheese and their Chicken Selects. No Shakes, no cheese, no fries, no blizzards/ice cream, no salads. Just burgers, chicken and limited sodas.
Watching civilization collapse sure was fun though.
The classic thing was after I did finally get a generator and wire the suicide plugs into the house, our outdoor lights are on a timer which came on. I saw the neighbors bolt inside and come out looking rather dejected when they realized that the power wasn't working. A little bit of sick humor I must admit.
Now that the power is restored, the neighbors we talked to and helped clean up their yards and pulled trees off and cut all of the fallen debris have closed their windows and their blinds, and we don't see them anymore.
Ahh society.
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