That a community affected by a disaster will fall apart or never recover. This belief originates in a sensitivity to the far reaching social impact of a disaster. What does happen however, is that communities that are not completely obliterated by the disaster, reconstruct themselves and gradually assimilate the disaster into their history, and continue a process of development. Communities, like healthy people, have a capacity to adapt to dramatic events and go on with life. What needs to be emphasised is how the community should alter its pre- disaster functioning plans, in order to take the disaster related changes into account.
Disaster stimulate great efforts on the part of community members.
Often these result in mutual conflict. The real task is developing community processes which will co-ordinate these efforts. Otherwise the remaining bitterness and resentment do cause deep community dissentience. 7 Workers in the disaster situation are not affected by the disaster. However, anybody entering the disaster setting becomes involved in emotionally powerful experiences.