People who loot during national emergencies like fires, storms, cyclones, hurricanes and any other event which displaces people from their homes are absolute scum. Fortunately, in many US states they treat looting a little more seriously than some others.

In California looting is punishable by one year in prison and a minimum of six months in jail. So if you loot in California, you have to serve 180 days in jail even if you get probation. It gets worse in Louisiana where you can get a maximum fine of up to $10,000 and a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Lawmakers did this because of the bad looting during Hurricane Katrina.

More US states need to adopt similar harsh punishments for looting during natural disasters like Louisiana did.