I can’t remember a time when I trusted the LA Times for anything and I don’t intend to start now.
After a calamity like this many more, possibly thousands, will die due to lack of water and sanitation. If I’m caught in a similar circumstance I’m putting a rock through the nearest standing structure to see what can be scrounged.
You might get shot too and I wouldn't shed a tear over it. There have been a couple of stories done on Port Au Prince shop owners sleeping in the rubble of their businesses to try and protect what they have. There are good people there who have worked hard for what they have and built up a decent business in spite of the environment there. Why should they lose even the last scraps of it to some worthless street thugs?