DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s top prosecutor says the state’s price gouging rule is now in effect for six counties facing flooding from the Missouri River.

Attorney General Tom Miller says Gov. Branstad’s disaster emergency declaration on Thursday trigged the rule in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie and Woodbury counties.

Price gouging is considered an unfair practice under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. It protects people from those who substantially raise prices for needed goods or services without justification. The rule was adopted following the floods of 1993.

It applies during the emergency declaration and a recovery period of up six months.