In any sense of the word, the COVID-19 crisis can be considered a disaster. But of course, the current crisis is also dramatically different from previous disasters, like hurricanes or wildfires. Professor Susan Sterett dives into how COVID-19 follows the same patterns of previous disasters and how it diverges, what we can learn from previous disasters to inform our current efforts, and how we can prepare for a future where the coronavirus will inevitably collide with other disasters.