The impact of natural disasters on politics is well known around the world. However, this phenomenon has not been studied in Poland. The author tries to explain the political events and phenomena that are connected with the natural disaster that hit the Tuchola Forest on the night of 11 and 12 August 2017 from the perspective of the shock doctrine and the world-systems theory. The author makes a hypothesis that local political elites try to take over power and, thanks to the political capital gained after the August’s disaster, they propose to establish a new municipality (Rytel) on the devastated area, against social interest. During the research, a number of political phenomena occurred, such as socio-political divisions in the Czersk municipality that determine the political preferences of the residents of Rytel and the municipality. It has been revealed that natural disasters are a catalyst of political conflicts in Poland.
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