This is correct when there is a competitive marketplace, but immediately after a natural disaster there is no economy.

As a customer, in many cases you can't even get to another gas station because the roads are blocked or you may have two choices instead of 100. As a station owner it's not about bidding for supply chain, it's whether the truck can get to you. Charging $50 a gallon will result in 'efficiency' of flying in gasoline to power a mansion's 10 gallon an hour generator, but not the efficiency of restoring order as quickly as possible.

Market efficiency takes time to achieve. It derives from things like word of mouth, you complain about grocery costs and your friend says hey that supermarket twice as far from you is cheaper, you start going there and eventually your local one lowers prices or goes out of business.

Finding an efficient market takes longer after a natural disaster and so wastes more than just fixing the infrastructure.

This is correct when there is a competitive marketplace, but immediately after a natural disaster there is no economy.

As a customer, in many cases you can't even get to another gas station because the roads are blocked or you may have two choices instead of 100. As a station owner it's not about bidding for supply chain, it's whether the truck can get to you. Charging $50 a gallon will result in 'efficiency' of flying in gasoline to power a rich mansion's 10 gallon an hour generator, but not the efficiency of restoring order as quickly as possible.

Market efficiency takes time to achieve. It derives from things like word of mouth, you complain about grocery costs and your friend says hey that supermarket twice as far from you is cheaper, you start going there and eventually your local one lowers prices or goes out of business.

Finding an efficient market takes longer after a natural disaster and so wastes more than just fixing the infrastructure.