If price-increases are allowed during severe shortages, then people would make a business of "pre-stocking" disaster-prone areas so that there is enough to sati

If price-increases are allowed during severe shortages, then people would make a business of "pre-stocking" disaster-prone areas so that there is enough to satisfy this increased demand (at even reasonable prices, not extreme ones). Sounds like a perfectly reasonable business model. But pre-stocking, specifically the long-term storage of supplies (as most preppers will probably note), is costly. At that point, it's not price gauging, just simply the cost that that person/business spent trying to store the supplies in preparation for the natural disaster. Heck, it might even be something that certain businesses can can incorporate into their existing warehousing/storage facilities. But that won't happen unless they're allowed to charge normal rates during normal periods, and increased ones during shortages. Because they'll simply go out of business, being the shop that sells the "priciest" fuel and water. But, to be honest, this really should be the responsibility of the government (while it claims to protect us). Price-gauging would then not even be an issue, because the government should be pre-stocking disaster-prone areas already. I think that's who I'll reserve my moral indignation for, and not the price-"gaugers".