ABSTRACT
The early neglectful treatment of women both leading and subsequent to disaster has thankfully begun to change. One of the first steps was the recognition of women’s legally owned property. This has largely been corrected with women’s homes compensated for in their names alone. The role of age in women’s vulnerability and recovery has emerged. Quite the reverse of expectation, after Hurricane Katrina, evidence shows that older women, long adept at handling difficulties, better recovered than young women. One is women being complicit in their mistreatment in the hands of men as their only means of achieving aid or power. The other is the demise of male impunity, of men being above accountability in their command or malfeasance. Indeed, accountability is on the rise in all aspects surrounding risk and calamity, and the women of the Oakland–Berkeley firestorm are on board.
