The northern hemisphere summer of 2018 is shaping up as being one of the most memorable from a natural disaster perspective - it may even point to a significant turning point in what we understand about the nature of hazards we could face in the future. No matter what we think we can control, we need to be ready for the unexpected, and to do that we need to find a way to embrace uncertainty and plan for the inevitable. But how we do this is largely unclear, and it is an important area in urgent need of more research to inform the decisions we are making.