Based on anthropological fieldwork in eastern Sri Lanka, this research explores social forms of coping in the aftermath of the tsunami and in the wake of yet another phase of armed conflict. It concentrates on daily life processes in camps and transitional shelters and asks how women and men come to terms with the massive bereavements and daily insecurities. The focus is on the variety of social, economic, political and ritual ways of dealing with the personal and collective crisis and of establishing social life amidst life-threatening events. The analysis of practices and field discourses delineate patterns of continuities and discontinuities in the pre- and post-tsunami social contexts. More specifically, it reveals how gender relationships are transformed in the negotiation of present options and constraints.