About “I can't imagine any recent catastrophe where the core cause of it would be sheer ignorance of the potential for risk.”, there are a lot of recent examples. E.g.:
> Prior to August 2014, additional chlorine had been added to eliminate bacteria from the Flint River. (...) Following this test, the MDEQ placed Flint on violation notice but did not reveal the information to residents until January 2015.
> A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of [ammonium nitrate] (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfside_condominium_collaps...
> The problems had been reported in 2018 and noted as "much worse" in April 2021.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis
> Prior to August 2014, additional chlorine had been added to eliminate bacteria from the Flint River. (...) Following this test, the MDEQ placed Flint on violation notice but did not reveal the information to residents until January 2015.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire
> Both the aluminium-polyethylene cladding and the PIR insulation plates failed fire safety tests conducted after the fire, according to the police.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Beirut_explosion
> A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of [ammonium nitrate] (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus.