ABSTRACT
Natural disasters have caused human agony since earliest recorded history. They strike indiscriminately, inflicting death, suffering, physical devastation, social disruption, and economic loss. Over the centuries, societies have learned to cope with these disasters by making adjustments that often become part of the culture. In spite of these adaptations, however, a major natural disaster generates extraordinary stresses on individual family members, the family itself, and the community in which the family lives.
