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In ordinary words.
Prices can climb sharply after a disaster when no applicable price-gouging rule restricts them.
In legal terms.
Pricing normally falls within contractual freedom, subject to federal and state unfair-practice, antitrust and emergency price-gouging laws.
Where it stops being legal.
Emergency declarations, state thresholds, market manipulation or deceptive advertising can change the outcome.
Legal authority / Start reading
State consumer-protection and price-gouging statutes
Open cited reference ↗General U.S.-focused information. Cases and statutes may have jurisdiction-specific exceptions. This citation may be a general primer; verify the governing primary authority. Not legal advice.