Disasters, as transformative environmental forces, challenge human perceptions of identity, belonging and control. This chapter concentrates on the aftermath of two specific urban disasters—the 1989 Newcastle earthquake and 2011 Brisbane flood—to explore how these events threatened human notions of place and environmental security. The death and building destruction caused by the earthquake undermined Newcastle’s residents’ sense of identity, the rarity of the event confronted their feelings of security. Brisbane’s 2011 flood inundated or destroyed buildings, shattering the myth of flood immunity. In Newcastle intense debate erupted over the preservation of damaged buildings. In Brisbane wrath was directed at presumed dam mismanagement. I argue that in both cases what was at stake was a desire to reassert a sense of place and human control over nature. But in doing so, both cities failed to adequately address the human-induced dimensions of natural disasters, thereby undermining potential for resilience and adaptation to environmental change.