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When hurricane Gudrun occurred in 2005, the Swedish crisis management system was put on its head. New political reforms together with the aftermath of the tsunami in Southeast Asia challenged the professional actors during the crisis. As Sweden has been relatively spared from natural disasters, Gudrun became one of the worst crises in Swedish history. People died both directly during the storm but also later during the reconstruction phase. After the storm had passed, almost an entire annual felling of the Swedish forest had been lost, which caused enormous costs both for the forest owners but also for the electricity and telecommunications companies. Despite the fact that Sweden is often seen as a state with strong welfare with welldeveloped public assistance systems, Gudrun highlighted differences in people’s vulnerability during the disaster. Furthermore, the study intends to investigate how social capital can function as an underlying mechanism for people’s vulnerability. The study also leads to a critical discussion about the Swedish crisis management system and people’s trust in government officials. Through a qualitative content analysis, the study will examine inequalities in social capital can generate different access to resources. The crucial conclusion of the study is that people’s vulnerability during Gudrun was partly conditioned by individuals network positions and social capital, and that great emphasis had been placed on institutions ability to manage the disaster, which reduced the risk perception and people’s ability to activate their own social networks.