One mob says that we are getting no help, so we'll loot and enforce our own sense of justice. An equal mob develops a sense of fear and anxiety about what they left behind. Both sides are paranoid.

Personally, I think the news coverage of very large events, like wars and large scale disasters, are nothing more than rumour mongering. I'd venture a guess to say that the damage inflicted by man-on-man pales in comparison to the beating inflicted by the inclement weather.