Copy toner is the new cocaine!
Frames and other less desirable/recyclable parts are just left as trash.
It's just construction theft. Stealings not great but it happens, no reason to get depressed about it.
Not like they were looting straight after the storm or any thing, perhaps that might be depressing but looting in natural disasters is just a myth. A strange myth people cling to, I can think of happier fables to believe in.
Try googling <event name> and "looting" and look for verified or police reports rather than Nth hand rumor and "looting has been reported".
You will find it is unfortunately less rare than one might hope.
1. frames cost more so harder to flip
2. frames typically have a serial number (equivalency of a VIN) which make them trackable for theft.
Common wisdom is a seatpost gets you about $10 which helps towards one's daily fix.
Actually bike theft around here falls into two categories -- high end that are shipped out of area quickly and low end which are chopped up and "recycled" for a quick buck.
Lots of the chop shops have been found of late due to a community effort to try and clean things up.