Seems unlikely. Say a hedge fund calculated out that they could get a 20% return by buying warehouses throughout the hurricane belt and filled them with bottled

Seems unlikely. Say a hedge fund calculated out that they could get a 20% return by buying warehouses throughout the hurricane belt and filled them with bottled water to sell at a huge mark-up (price gouging) during a disaster. Seems like more people would get the water they needed, if this happened, but it seems unlikely that the hedge fund would not be prosecuted for something after the public outrage at their actions. I think having people default reaction to rare events of scarcity to be sharing any surplus, instead of grabbing all they can get, is a good one. Try to encourage a more rational but complicated reaction is unlikely to be successful. Who can know in such a complex system of millions of people and a disaster the best way to minimize harm. If everyone just stored a 5 gallon jug ($20 for a really nice one at Home Depot) of water for each person in their home, that would go a huge way to preventing dehydration during these disasters.