This article focuses on the role that community plays in the continuum of disaster preparedness, response and recovery, and explores where community fits in conceptual frameworks concerning disaster decision-making.  Two contrasting notions are identified, the first being community as simply an aggregation of individual persons. As individuals, they have only limited capacity to act effectively or make decisions for themselves, and they are strongly subject to administrative decisions that authorities impose on them. The second is the recognition of the community as an autonomous actor, with its own interests, preferences, resources, and capabilities. The article concludes with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of community in disaster response and in disaster research.