ABSTRACT
Disasters arrive in two ways: by rapid onset, as with an earthquake or meltdown; or by slow onset, as with a drought or toxic pollution. Since all disasters derive from human causation, the crux of each comes down to one element: the "fourth" environment, the people's culture. From origin to development, reaction to recovery, culture is the driver that facilitates, frames, and guides disaster. People's prior experiences of disaster also create a pervasive idea of what peril exists or what a disaster will entail. Tales of former disasters led people to deny weather predictions and remain in their houses during both Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. The most mysterious factor in people's relation to the environment, and subsequently in their vulnerability to disaster, is place attachment. A people's social structure at times often corresponds to how the physical environment is owned and used, and also how disaster survival is accomplished.
