Using a phase approach to disasters, chapter four is the first of three chapters to guide readers through the Hurricane Harvey experience. Chapter four describes the pre-event disaster phase before Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Through narratives and statistical analyses, this chapter begins by identifying capacities that strengthen community resilience, such as high levels of belonging and civic participation. However, this chapter also reveals how a lack of trust among black and Latinx residents, communication failures between local disaster management and residents, and weak hurricane risk perception presented cracks in the resilience of the Texas Gulf Coast.