There are two types of natural disasters: foreseen disasters, such as hurricanes, or unforeseen disasters, such as zombie outbreaks. As one can see in World War Z, written by Max Brooks, the latter of the two types usually takes the worst toll on humans. The reason unforeseen disasters are the worst is because there is no time to prepare. Most people do not have huge stockpiles of food or great home defense systems, so when something like a zombie outbreak happens there is almost nothing to do besides flee. Although humans may have to flee, they have extraordinary abilities, unlike animals, to adapt quickly to events and think of intelligent courses of action. In times of disaster there are two types of people: those that adapt to their surroundings and try to better the situation for themselves and others, and those that take advantage of a situation to get the best only for themselves. .
The first character to analyze is Sensei Tomonaga Ijiro. He has actually gone through two disasters in his life, the first disaster being the atomic bomb dropped on Japan, where he lost his sight, and the zombie outbreak. Ijiro worked as a gardener in northern Japan, and when the outbreak began he fled to a mountainous region that he knew well so he would not be a burden on others trying to survive. He thought he would most definitely die, especially when a bear came upon him. The bear did not kill him and warned him of an approaching zombie. When asked why he did not attack the bear Ijiro said, "This encounter could only be the will of the kami" (221). Ijiro saw it as a sign from the gods that he was a chosen one. After killing that first zombie, he decided he would sleep during the day and hunt at night. He even divided the national park into zones, with each zone containing a safe zone. He used his remaining senses perfectly, sometimes being able to hear a zombie from more than half a kilometer away.