Moments of disaster and crisis often lay bare dramatic societal hierarchies. When disasters and climate-related catastrophes hit, reinforcing impacts of redlining, financial and other policies worsen inequities in the US and around the world — effectively maintaining hierarchies. For climate-impacted communities, the right to stay and the right to move is called into question when people lack the resources to survive. We can learn from disasters and climate-induced events that our policy choices and neoliberal systems perpetuate inequity.