6. After the Storm

Chapter six addresses survivors’ mental, physical, and behavioral transformations in the post-event phase following Hurricane Harvey. The authors review factors that contribute to disaster mental health reactions, including PTSD and depression symptoms, before explaining how challenging mental health reactions were distributed across the Texas Gulf Coast. Next, the chapter offers narrative accounts that serve as exemplars of growth and positive psychological change. Finally, the chapter describes an association between survivors’ displacement paths and climate risk perception, as well as how people are preparing for future hurricanes. In this description, social and economic factors suggest that the Texas Gulf Coast is becoming a patchwork of preparedness where the poor and socially isolated remain vulnerable to future disasters.