ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on individual and collective reaction to hazard and disaster. It deals with an evaluation of the impact of natural catastrophe on human history. Human beings associate with one another in social and economic terms for a series of reasons, which constitute four normal community functions: production, distribution and consumption; socialization and social participation; social control; and mutual support. Economic considerations are important both before and after disaster has struck. With regard to the former, both the state of vulnerability and degree to which this is generally known will have possible economic consequences. Panic is one extreme phenomenon associated with disasters that can be viewed in both sociological and psychological terms. Personal values tend to alter in response to the overwhelming experience of surviving the sudden impact of a natural disaster. Disaster damage costs are a form of tax which is distributed among the various sections of the community.
