POST-GIRI RECOVERY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN FOR SHELTER SECTOR

Shelter Working Group

February 2011 MYANMAR

The Post-Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector is prepared by Shelter Working Group chaired by UN-Habitat in collaboration with UNDP and DCGU, UNICEF, UN OCHA, UNHCR, IOM, New Generation, Swanyee, KMSS, Ar Yone Oo, CCF, MEET, NCV, MRCS, Save the Children, Solidarites International, Care, Danish Refugee Council, Action Aid, IFRC , ECHO and Malteser International. The Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area is done by UN-Habitat, Solidarites International, IOM, NCV, Save the Children and Swan Yee Development Foundation. Printed and published with the support from Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

POST-GIRI RECOVERY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN FOR SHELTER SECTOR

Shelter Working Group

February 2011 MYANMAR

Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword 1 Table of Contents 2 1. Objectives of this Report 4

2. Background 4 2.1 Cyclone Giri 4 2.2 Emergency Response, Shelter Sector 5 2.3 Handover to Shelter Working Group 5 2.4 Comprehensive Joint Assessment 5 2.5 Workshop 6

3. Shelter Working Group Comprehensive Joint Assessment 6 3. 1 The Main Findings 6

4. Guiding Principles of the Shelter Recovery Strategy 9 4.1 Immediate Priorities/Targets 9 4.2 Sustainability 9 4.3 Support community and individual self-help processes 10 4.4 Reduce future risks 10

5. Issues of Concern/ for Clarification 10 5.1 Self-Recovery 10 5.2 Access Issues (transportation difficulties for people and supplies) 11 5.3 Short Time Frame 12

6. Agreed Strategies 12 6.1 Shelter Sector (please also see annexes 3,4 and 5) 12 6.2 Cross-Sector Interventions 13

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

7. Action Plan 14

8. Consequences of Inaction 15

9. The Information Sharing and Coordination Mechanisms 15

10. Contributors 15

11. Shelter Construction Guidelines and Manuals on DRR 15

Figures Figure 1 Proportion of affected houses fully repaired in the worst hit areas, by 7 township Figure 2 Proportion of affected houses not yet repaired in the worst hit areas, by 8 township Figure 3 Top reason for the villagers’ inability to repair their houses, by township 8

Tables Table 1 Level of house destruction and damage in the worst hit areas, by township 7

Annexes Annex 1 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of The Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area Annex 2 Abstract of Cost and BoQ for a Household Shelter (Location-Rakhine)

Annex 3 DDR Model House S01

Annex 4 DDR Model House S02

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

POST-GIRI RECOVERY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN FOR SHELTER SECTOR

1. Objectives of this Report his recovery strategy and action plan is intended as a guide for agencies involved in Shelter activities. It may also be a useful reference to donors who are funding or T considering funding shelter sector activities in Cyclone Giri affected areas. This paper is based primarily on the Comprehensive Assessment carried about by the Shelter Working Group between December 2010 and January 2011, and on the inputs received from the participating members of the Post-Giri Early Recovery Action Planning Workshop (for Shelter Sector) held on January 20th 2011 and hosted by UN-Habitat. In addition, this report is informed by the many meetings of the Emergency Shelter Cluster and its Technical Working Group. With this report, UN-Habitat as a chair of Shelter Working Group wishes to provide donors and their respective agencies with the most important and relevant facts in order that they might more effectively focus their support and shelter recovery programming in the affected areas, while at the same time enabling the sector and the communities to better withstand future disasters.

2. Background 2.1 Cyclone Giri Cyclone Giri, a category four cyclonic storm, made landfall in Rakhine State on 22 October 2010 close to Kyaukpyu town affecting 260,000 people, completely destroying over 20,830 homes and partially damaging 31,114 houses. The Townships of Kyaukpyu, Myebon, Myinbya and

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

Pauktaw were the most severely affected by the storm which caused severe damage to houses and infrastructure including roads and bridges in coastal areas1.

2.2 Emergency Response, Shelter Sector The communities and the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar are to be commended for Early Warning and planning in the lead up to impact of Cyclone Giri which fortunately led to minimal loss of life, particularly when compared to Cyclone Nargis. However the situation on the ground, especially in terms of shelter, has been devastating. The official estimate of homes damaged and destroyed by the Cyclone stands at 51,944 households2 The Emergency Shelter Cluster (ESC) mobilized within weeks of the disaster, coordinating the sector’s response in Yangon, based on information and response received from the ground. The Emergency Shelter Cluster (ESC) was led by IFRC (International Federation of the Red Cross) and was comprised of 5 local NGOs, 12 International NGOs, 5 UN Agencies and 2 Donors. The Emergency Shelter response provided emergency shelter kits which includes 2 tarpaulins, a 30 meter rope and a hammer. Other items distributed included kitchen sets, mosquito nets and blankets. Distribution of these items may continue in parallel with early recovery efforts so that villages that have not yet received early recovery assistance can still benefit from temporary emergency assistance until such time as full coverage by early recovery initiatives has been achieved.

2.3 Handover to Shelter Working Group The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator (UN HC) informed the and humanitarian community that the emergency phase clusters system would end by late January 2011 to allow those clusters to be either integrated into existing sectoral working groups or to evolve into Early Recovery thematic working groups. Since the mandate of the IFRC precludes it from in engaging in post- emergency transitional housing and settlements solutions, the Emergency Shelter Cluster agreed that UN-Habitat should assume leadership of the sector, which it did in a handover from IFRC on 10 January 2011. From the initial days of the activation of the ESC, UN-Habitat had been working verily closely with IFRC. It was also co-chairing the ESC Technical Working Group (TWIG) along with Solidarites International. The TWIG prepared advocacy material and undertook a comprehensive assessment of shelter needs.

2.4 Comprehensive Joint Assessment Because of the lack of access and paucity of concrete information and data coming in from the disaster areas, the Emergency Shelter Cluster ESC initiated a comprehensive joint shelter assessment led by key shelter agencies in collaboration with local partners. The main objectives of the assessment were to assess damage levels, collect data and plan for an effective transition from relief to early recovery and recovery, for the shelter sector. Using assessment forms designed by the Technical Working Group of the Shelter Cluster (TWIG); the assessment was conducted in 112 sample villages in the worst hit areas during December 2010/January 2011 covering 39% of the affected families. The assessment, which can be viewed in Annex 1 of this report, was carried out with financial support from UN-Habitat and in- kind contributions from Solidarites International, IOM, NCV, Save the Children and Swan Yee Development Foundation.

1 OCHA Situation Report #11, 20 Dec. 2010 2 Official GoRUM figures for Shelter Cluster 5

Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

2.5 Workshop On the afternoon of January 20th, 2011, UN-Habitat as chair of the Shelter Working Group, hosted a workshop to share the Assessment results as a catalyst for discussion and brainstorming on the way forward into early recovery in the shelter sector. The inputs from the 23 agencies (UN organizations, INGOS, local NGOs and Donors) and their representatives who participated are well considered in this report.

3. Shelter Working Group Comprehensive Joint Assessment 3. 1The Main Findings House destruction levels were quite high in the assessment areas, with over one third of the houses fully destroyed by the cyclone. Myebon was by far the most affected township with over half the houses in the assessment areas, completely destroyed. Two months after the cyclone, half of the sampled villages indicate more than 91% of destroyed/damaged houses remain without rehabilitation of a stronger, more permanent nature - as appealed by the RC/HC to the international community on the briefing of 20th December 2010. In contrast, only partial repairs have been carried out using tarpaulins provided during the emergency phase. Again, Myebon had the highest proportion of houses not recovered at all. In summary, the number of people who have not recovered their housing to pre-cyclone conditions is still dramatically high. As of January 2011 an estimated 104,000 people are homeless. For those households who have attempted to repair by themselves, the repair work is far below the minimum humanitarian standards (SPHERE) and does not meet any parameters of disaster resilience and will probably draw upon their scarce financial resources leaving them vulnerable and unable to meet basic food, water and subsistence needs. The rate of self recovery for shelters was found to be as low as 9%, leaving entire villages without the means to rehabilitate their homes, recover their livelihoods and resume their lives. In the context of cash shortage and livelihoods disruption, leaving the homeless to self recover will most probably push many affected families into debt. Should there be no external support, the majority of affected houses will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. The situation is particularly alarming in villages with high destruction levels, where most affected villagers will not be able to recover decent living conditions before the next rainy season. The lack of cash is by far the main constraint to shelter self recovery, and is compounded by the strong disruption to livelihoods. Basic technical skills and availability of manpower do not appear to be major constraints but rather represent assets for the recovery interventions to come. Assessment Coverage: The assessment covered approximately 16% of the whole population of the four targeted townships. Considering that the total population affected by Cyclone Giri in the four townships was estimated at 260,000 people, the sample represents approximately 37% of the affected population. Damage and Destruction Levels: Results indicate that in the worst hit areas, more than one third of the houses were fully destroyed by the cyclone, another third were partially damaged, and only 11% were not affected at all. As shown in table below, Myebon was by far the most affected township, with almost half of the houses destroyed in the assessed areas.

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

Table 1 Level of house destruction and damage in the worst hit areas, by township Total No Destruction Partial damage Small damage Total affected Township of houses in sample No % No % No % No %

Kyaukpyu 4,314 467 11% 1,136 26% 1,645 38% 3,248 75%

Minbya 2,497 795 32% 803 32% 739 30% 2,337 94%

Myebon 7,034 3,427 49% 2,298 33% 1,128 16% 6,853 97%

Pauktaw 5,350 1,775 33% 1,943 36% 988 18% 4,706 88%

Total 19,195 6,464 34% 6,180 32% 4,500 23% 17,144 89%

Two months after the cyclone, half of the sample villages indicate more than 91% of destroyed/damaged houses remain without rehabilitation, and will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. In almost one third (32%) of the villages, villagers reported that there was not a single house fully repaired yet. Most of these villages were amongst the worst affected ones. Disaggregated data by township show that recovery is slowest in Pauktaw (17% of affected houses already repaired fully); however the proportion of houses not repaired at all is much higher in Myebon (43%) than in the three other townships.

Figure 1 Proportion of affected houses fully repaired in the worst hit areas, by township

Proportion of affected houses fully repaired in the sample villages (as of 05 January 2011)

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% Kyaukpyu Minbya Myebon Pauktaw Total

Houses that suffered small or partial damages during the cyclone were found to be the ones that people have already repaired partially or fully. They often used for this type of repair the materials they received during the emergency phase e.g. tarpaulins to cover part of the roof and

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector to replace a missing wall. In many cases however, self-repaired houses are not strong enough and do not have any disaster resilient features.

Figure 2 Proportion of affected houses not yet repaired in the worst hit areas, by township

Proportion of affected houses that have not been repaired at all in the sample villages (as of 05 January 2011)

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% Kyaukpyu Minbya Myebon Pauktaw Total

Approximately 20,000 fully destroyed houses have not been recovered yet, meaning that more than 104,000 people still remain homeless. Constraints Faced by Affected Households to Repair or Rebuild Their House: The lack of cash is cited as the main constraint mentioned for householders inability to repair/rebuild themselves with 88% of the sample villages, reporting this as the top constraint. This is particularly clear for Minbya where it was the main problem for all sample villages (see figure below).

Figure 3 Top reason for the villagers’ inability to repair their houses, by township

Top constraint for house self-recovery

lack of cash lack of materials No / loss of source of income % of sample villages 100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% Kyaukpyu Minbya Myebon Pauktaw Total

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

The lack of construction materials and the lack of access to construction tools were also cited as key reasons impeding recovery; in addition to lack of time to rebuild particularly given the need to focus on addressing other basic needs such as food and water.

4. Guiding Principles of the Shelter Recovery Strategy A number of principles were agreed to by the Shelter Working Group to guide the development of this strategy and to help judge the various options at hand for addressing the shelter recovery needs. Respect the primacy of the needs of the affected 4.1 Immediate Priorities/Targets families and communities The Shelter Working Group agreed that initial support should Ensure security, protection, target primarily those communities most affected by the Cyclone and the right to a “place and living with host families and with no or limited means for to live” self-recovery It was also agreed that priority should be given to the most vulnerable groups and the assistance package should cater to their specific needs (women-headed households, persons with disabilities, elderly, etc.), especially in the hardest hit townships of Myebon and Kyaukphyu.

4.2 Sustainability Group members have also agreed to ensure the following: Recovery programmes are to be designed to maximize the positive impact on the local economy (using local resources, timber and nipa-palm leaves in a sustainable way)

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

Reduce individual dependency by using community-driven processes Ensure that the recovery investments remain within the community as much as possible

4.3 Support community and individual self-help processes Facilitate the community in their village planning and consultative actions (right package for right beneficiaries) Build on community knowledge while still providing technical insights for building safer houses Provide assistance packages to support people in rebuilding their own homes at least to the core level, which can then be expanded incrementally over time

4.4 Reduce future risks Considering the disaster-prone nature of Rakhine State, it was agreed that the recovery intervention can be perceived as an opportunity to improve the lives of the people and reduce their vulnerability to future disasters. Encouraging communities to build shelters that are resilient to cyclones and heavy wind speeds, and provide relevant technical guidance.

5. Issues of Concern/ for Clarification 5.1 Self-Recovery Misperceptions about the meaning of “shelter kits” during Emergency Phase: A misperception was created during the emergency phase from a statement (paraphrased) that “85% of shelter needs have been satisfied through distribution of 10

Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

shelter kits”. This resulted in the widespread misperception that shelter needs had been largely satisfied even though a shelter kit is comprised only of 2 tarps, plastic sheet, nails and a hammer, materials sufficient for only the most temporary of shelter arrangements. Misperception that shelter “self-recovery” is a preferred option: While some affected households have started to repair or rebuild their houses on their own, these are not often up to minimum humanitarian standards and certainly far from disaster resilience, and self-recovery inevitably has negative impacts on households’ financial situation. The Assessment clearly found that the overall self recovery rate is low, with lack of cash, time and materials being the main constraints. Lack of visual impact in the affected areas: damaged/destroyed houses are not visible on a drive-thru basis. The staff that conducted the Assessment noted that the damage level of a village could not be determined by casual observation, by driving through a village, for instance. This is because intact houses are readily visible whereas damaged or destroyed houses are generally obscured from view. In addition, most of the vulnerable families who were made homeless by the Cyclone are living with host families and only through interviewing the affected families is it possible to determine the abnormal nature of the living situation.

5.2 Access Issues (transportation difficulties for people and supplies) Access to many remote villages is possible only by boat, and the availability of boats is limited as many were damaged/destroyed in the Cyclone. Due to the scarcity of boats and the concurrent rise in demand for their hire by humanitarian agencies, the price of boat rental has risen considerably. Lack of Jetties: Only one village in Myebon had a jetty large enough to allow a medium- sized boat to dock and unload shelter materials. Where there is no jetty, supply boats

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

have to moor in harbors while smaller launches unload the materials and take them to shore piece by piece. This is a slow and expensive process. The lack of jetties will be especially problematic starting in March when the seas become progressively rougher. By the month of June, the increased waves and wind will deter many captains from delivering supplies. The suppliers in Sittwe and Myebon Town need up to one month’s time to from point of purchase order to complete delivery.

5.3 Short Time Frame There is a compressed time frame for securing funding and implementing shelter recovery projects as the rainy season will begin by June

6. Agreed Strategies 6.1 Shelter Sector (please also see annexes 2, 3 and 4) 6.1.1 Shelter should be the top priority during the early recovery phase, with focus on Myebon Township, to avert potential further tragedy and to allow livelihoods interventions to succeed over the long-term 6.1.2 Shelter recovery activities need to start urgently to make the most of the dry season and support the poorest households that will not be able to rebuild and will be forced to spend the coming rainy season(s) in dwellings far from minimum humanitarian standards. 6.1.3 Shelter standards should be appropriate to a disaster prone area with strong winds / rainfalls. The rainy season, which runs from June till October, is amongst the heaviest in the world (with an average annual rainfall of 5 meters)3. Several storms with winds of over 75 mph occur every year as well as regular cyclones from the Bay of Bengal. As a consequence, shelter standards in the area of intervention should be higher than in the Ayeyarwaddy delta and stakeholders involved in shelter recovery should aim for shelters with disaster resilient structure and features at a unit cost of at least USD 600 for a new shelter, and USD 175 for a ‘repair package’ (walling, roofing or flooring). 6.1.4 The initial target is to shelter those 15,000 households living with host families as dependants. The next priority group is the estimated 5,000 households whose homes were fully damaged and are now living in temporary erected shelters. The third priority group are those 14,500 households whose homes were damaged but not destroyed. For the remaining 17,444 households which homes were slighty damaged long term support will be provided which will enable them to self-repair their dwellings over time. This final group will receive long term support through the provision of livelihoods opportunities which will enable them to self-repair their dwellings over time. 6.1.5 The implementation approach should be Community-led, linking shelter to livelihood recovery interventions such as skills training in carpentry, masonry and cash-for-work projects 6.1.6 DRR knowledge should be a component of shelter reconstruction, and as a last resort, if no funding is made available for shelter, appropriate IEC materials should at least be shared with local communities for them to be able to build back better their houses if/when they accumulate enough resources.

3 Cyclone Giri Assessment Report – NCV / Solidarites International 7 Dec 2010 (Available at the www.themimu.info 12

Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

6.2 Cross-Sector Interventions 6.2.1 Livelihoods: The members of the Shelter Working Group felt that in the Myanmar context, shelter provision is one of the most effective direct and indirect livelihoods generators and shelter provision should feature in donors’ livelihoods strategies. Beneficiary’s selection for livelihoods generators should prioritize those that have a damaged or destroyed house. 6.2.2 WASH 6.2.3 Ceramic water storage jars provided to each household The initial assessments indicated that the most severe water situations exist in those villages which depended solely on manmade ponds for their entire water supply and/or those villages which supplemented their water supply from ponds, and where these ponds had become saline from sea water flooding following the cyclone. While de-salinization of ponds and/or provision of alternative water sources will be coordinated by the WASH Working Group, members of the Shelter Working Group suggested that the shelter recovery strategy should include provision of ceramic water storage jars to each household in the communities in which they work, so that families can collect water from clean spring sources. While water collection from such sources may a require long haul on foot, the ceramic jars can serve as a temporary measure until such time as communities can restore normal water sources with the help of WASH implementing agencies as necessary. 6.2.4 Sanitation facilities provided only to those households that had them before Cyclone Giri: The WASH cluster led by UNICEF has been advocating for a Community-Led Total Sanitation approach (CLTS) will be implemented as soon as resources become available. Hence it was agreed in WASH cluster meetings that where people had latrines before the cyclone, assistance should be provided to rebuild those that were lost. It is counterproductive to the long-term process of hygiene behavior change to simply build latrines for people who do not know or want to use them. For households which did not have toilets before the cyclone the approach of community led total sanitation would be used to change social norms in communities, to convince communities not to defecate in the open. 6.2.5 Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter: The Shelter Working Group also suggested that in the long term there is also a need for retrofitting the main public buildings (monasteries, schools, health centers, etc. ) to become multi-purpose centers where people can take refuge in case of a disaster. 6.2.6 DRR education/sensitization of communities: Building of one model house in each community to serve as an example of DRR construction so that people can have visual knowledge of safer shelter. The building of the model house would constitute the final installment of training of community carpenters in DRR construction techniques. Also important is the sensitization of communities through Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM). 6.2.7 Access Infrastructure (jetties, roads, small bridges) reconstruction to be undertaken as cash- for-work livelihoods opportunities.

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

7. Action Plan The objective of the early recovery phase in the shelter sector is to support the communities affected by Cyclone Giri to re-establish their traditional ways of building their house, but with improved safety. This must be implemented with strategies to reduce vulnerabilities in the most effective and equitable manner considering the scale of need, limited resources and limited access to the affected region. Cost per Total Outcomes Intervention Time Frame Townships Unit Cost Rehabilitation and Replacement of 20,000 fully Most vulnerable by July Myebon, USD 600 USD 12 reconstruction of shelter for destroyed homes 2011 and 2nd phase Kyaukphyu, million homeless population before June 2012 (onset Pauktaw, Minbya of rainy season)

Rehabilitation or repair of Repair of 14,500 damaged homes Within 15 months Myebon, USD 175 USD affected homes (before start of 2012 Kyaukphyu , 2.54 rainy season) Pauktaw, Minbya million

Increased livelihood Provision of livelihoods opportunities Before July 2011 Myebon, USD USD opportunities through to 17,444 HHs whose homes were Kyaukphyu, 100/carpenter 750.000 enhanced skills and slightly damaged, through Pauktaw, Minbya employment carpentry training (including DRR (4-5 persons per construction techniques), supplying village) the relevant manuals, and cash-for- work activities Potential cost- sharing with other WGs

Enhanced capacity of Capacity building in emergencies Before July 2012 Myebon, Pauktaw, To encourage (DRR-WG) community to effectively and DRR education for affected Minbya, Kyaukphu DRR-WG prepare and respond to communities through CBDRM future disasters

Estimated Total Shelter Recovery Cost USD 14.54 *This excludes donor contributions (including CERF) during the relief /emergency phase estimated at USD 1.8 million dollars of the total million * committed USD 22 million for Giri relief and emergency 14

Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

8. Consequences of Inaction Without external support, 57% of affected houses (29,000+ houses) will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. If the same area is hit with even a minor cyclone during the coming rainy season, a humanitarian crisis far worse than the one that occurred after Cyclone Giri can easily result as already weakened shelters are swept away. On the other hand, if those villagers with inadequate shelter try to move inland to avoid the wind and rain of the season, this could be equally disastrous. They may seek drier/safer ground in large numbers, but they will not be able to bring their livelihoods with them. The inland areas of Rakhine State are mountainous; fishing cannot be practiced nor can rice be cultivated. Ultimately, their inability to re-establish their livelihoods in the inland areas of Rakhine State could trigger cross-border migration to other countries. Another consequence of inaction is spiraling debt amongst households. It has already been mentioned in this report that self-recovery of shelter requires cash that most households do not have. Already, recent survey data provided by the Food Security Working Group indicates that 68% of the affected households don’t know when they will be able to repay their existing debt.

9. The Information Sharing and Coordination Mechanisms Shelter Working Group chaired by UN-Habitat meets monthly and can be contacted by [email protected]. The Technical Working Group co-chaired by UN-Habitat and Solidarites International meets on a needs basis. Inter-agency coordination meetings between local and international NGOs and UN agencies have been held regularly in Yangon and Sittwe. Bilateral meetings between local authorities and humanitarian partners take place regularly in Sittwe. Donor Briefings chaired by the U.N. RC/HC are held in Yangon on a regular basis. The MIMU has developed a webpage dedicated to the response to Cyclone Giri. Assessment data and 3W (Who-What-Where) information on the cyclone response are also compiled and posted to the website: http://www.themimu.info/ The webpage also lists those agencies/organizations working on shelter in Giri-affected areas.

10. Contributors The following organizations and agencies, comprising the Shelter Working Group, participated in the Workshop that led to the formation of this document. From the United Nations, there was participation from: UN-HABITAT UNDP and DCGU UNICEF UN OCHA UNHCR IOM

Local non-governmental organizations included: New Generation Swanyee KMSS Ar Yone Oo 15

Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

CCF MEET NCV MRCS

And finally, international NGOs and donors included: Save the Children Solidarites International Care Danish Refugee Council Action Aid IFRC ECHO Malteser International

11. Shelter Construction Guidelines and Manuals on DRR The following shelter construction guidelines and manuals on DRR developed by UN-Habitat are available upon request.

Poster: Building Back Poster: We protect our shelter from rains, storms Safer (E-M) & floods (E-M)

Guidelines Village Shelter Committee (E-M) Poster: Building Back Safer Shelter (E-M)

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Post – Giri Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Shelter Sector

Manual: A Guide for Village Carpenters on Manual: How to Build a Safer Shelter(E-M) How to Build a Safer Shelter (E-M)

Guidelines on Retrofitting of Rural Houses in Myanmar (E-M)

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Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 1

The Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area has been conducted by the Shelter Working Group with funding and in kind contribution from:

COMPREHENSIVE JOINT ASSESSMENT OF THE SHELTER SITUATION IN CYCLONE GIRI AFFECTED AREA

SHELTER WORKING GROUP

February 2011 MYANMAR

2 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

1. Assessment Rationale and Objectives 5 1.1 Context and Rationale for the Joint Assessment 5 1.2 Objectives of the Joint Assessment 6

2. Assessment Methodology 6 2.1 Data Collection Tools And Methods 6 2.2 Data Collection Teams 7 2.3 Village Sampling 7 2.4 Data Entry, Data Analysis and Reporting 8

3. Assessment Findings 8 3.1 Assessment Coverage and Demographic Data 8 3.2 Destruction Level 9 3.3 Self-Recovery Rate and Estimated Level Of Needs 12 3.3.1 Current Level of Self-Recovery 12 3.3.2 Estimated Level of Shelter Repair Needs 14 3.4 Main Constraints Faced by Affected Households to Repair or Rebuild Their House 18

4. Conclusion and Recommendations 19 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 3

Executive Summary

yebon, Pauktaw, Kyaukpyu and Minbya were four of the most-severely affected townships following the impact of Cyclone Giri, which made landfall in Rakhine State on M 22 October 2010. The shelter and infrastructure sectors were in particular severely damaged (OCHA situation report #11, 20th December 2010). Given lack of access and availability of concrete information and data coming in from the disaster areas, the Emergency Shelter Cluster ESC initiated a comprehensive joint shelter assessment led by key shelter agencies in collaboration with local partners. The main objectives of the assessment were to assess damage levels, collect data and plan for an effective transition from relief to early recovery and development, for the shelter sector. Using a one page assessment form designed by the Technical Working Group of the Shelter Cluster (TWIG) co-led by UN-Habitat and Solidarités International, the assessment team conducted group discussions at community level in 112 sample villages in the worst hit areas during December 2010/January 2011.

The Main Findings House destruction levels were quite high in the assessment areas, with over one third of the houses fully destroyed by the cyclone. Myebon was by far the most affected township with nearly half the houses in the assessment areas, completely destroyed. Two months after the cyclone, half of the sampled villages indicate more than 91% of destroyed/damaged houses remain without rehabilitation of a stronger, more permanent nature - as appealed by the RC/HC to the international community on the briefing of 20th December 2010. In contrast, only partial repairs have been carried out using tarpaulins provided during the emergency phase. Again, Myebon had the highest proportion of houses not recovered at all. In summary, the number of people who have not recovered their housing to pre-cyclone conditions is still dramatically high. As of January 2011 an estimated 104,000 people are homeless. For those households who have attempted to repair by themselves, the repair work is far below the minimum standards for disaster resilience and will probably draw upon their scarce financial resources leaving them vulnerable and unable to meet basic food, water and subsistence needs. The rate of self recovery for shelters was found to be low, leaving entire villages without the means to rehabilitate their homes, recover their livelihoods and resume their lives. In the context of cash shortage and livelihoods disruption, leaving the homeless to self recover will most probably push many affected families into debt. Should there be no external support, the majority of affected houses will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. The situation is particularly alarming in villages with high destruction levels, where most affected villagers will not be able to recover decent living conditions before the next rainy season. The lack of cash is by far the main constraint to shelter self recovery, and is compounded by the strong disruption to livelihoods. Basic technical skills and availability of manpower do not appear to be major constraints but rather represent assets for the recovery interventions to come.

Key Recommendations Shelter should be considered as a top priority during the early recovery phase, with a specific focus on Myebon Township.

4 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

Shelter recovery activities need to start urgently to make the most of the dry season and support the poorest households that will not be able to rebuild and will be forced to spend the coming rainy season(s) in dwellings far from minimum humanitarian standards. Shelter standards and costs should be defined considering that the area is highly prone to disasters and has very strong wind and rainfalls. DRR knowledge must be improved and spread within the communities as a component of shelter construction. Shelter reconstruction should be community-led, with an emphasis on supporting and encouraging revitalization of the links between shelter and livelihood recovery interventions.

Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 5

Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

1. Assessment Rationale and Objectives 1.1 Context and rationale for the joint assessment Cyclone Giri made landfall in Rakhine State on 22 October 2010 affecting 260,000 people, completely destroying over 20,380 homes and thus making approximately 102,000 people homeless1. The townships of Myebon, Pauktaw, Kyaukpyu and Minbya were the most affected. A number of ad- hoc agency assessments were carried out in the affected areas in the weeks following the cyclone. In particular UNDP conducted a multi-sectorial assessment in November that includes some shelter issues i.e. the proportion of households who had their house collapsed and data on the current settlement of affected people. Initial findings indicated that a significant proportion of households were still staying with family / friends or in tents or temporary shelters while some also built or repaired a shelter by themselves. The Emergency Shelter Cluster (ESC) has been coordinating the sector response at Yangon level based on information received from the ground. Following the review of existing assessments, the Technical Working Group (TWIG) of the ESC, co-led by International UN-Habitat and Solidarités, decided to implement a comprehensive joint assessment for the following reasons: Although most of the emergency needs were covered through the distribution of emergency shelter kits, there are still tremendous gaps in terms of resilient shelter recovery, which need to be properly assessed; There are still significant data missing from the assessments done so far in particular to measure the self-recovery rate of affected communities; There is a need to prepare a common strategy for the transition from Emergency to Early Recovery that takes into account the lessons learned from Nargis and the good practices for a quality recovery response (e.g. local capacity building, use of local materials). Previous assessments provided useful information on the level of damages and the current situation on the ground, showing that shelter is amongst the top priority needs. This joint assessment is to help plan a community-driven and coordinated early recovery intervention.

1 As per Situation Report #11, OCHA, 20 December 2010.

6 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

1. 2 Objectives of the Joint Assessment The main objectives of this joint assessment were to assess the extent of the damage, the shelter self-recovery rate of local communities in the 4 most affected townships and to collect key data essential for planning early recovery for the shelter sector. By ‘planning’ reference is made in particular to appropriate timing as well as adequate means and methods which need to be defined and agreed upon by the various stakeholders involved in the shelter sector.

2. Assessment Methodology 2.1 Data Collection Tools and Methods To ensure consistency and easy data collection members of the TWIG designed a one page assessment form2 that addresses the following expected results: Result 1: The actual level of destruction in the most affected areas is documented and quantified. Result 2: The proportion of houses rebuilt by the end of December 2010 is estimated. Result 3: The proportion of houses that will not be rebuilt, if further assistance is not provided before the next rainy season, is estimated. Result 4: The main constraints3 on affected households for repairing or rebuilding their house are identified. Three levels of damage were defined for the purpose of this survey: “Destruction”: means that the house completely collapsed and that only the core structure remained in the best case scenario (though it is often leaning). “Partial damage”: means that the core structure remained without major damage but the house sustained significant damages to the roof, walls and/or floor, or that at least one of these was missing. “Small damage”: means that the house was still fit to live in but had some missing elements pertaining to the roof, walls or floor.

Figure 1 The three levels of house damage used during the joint assessment

Destruction Partial damage Small damage

2 See Annex. A draft version of this questionnaire was tested in the field in Myebon by Solidarités International in November. Following this test, the questionnaire was adjusted and also the Myanmar translation was improved. 3 This includes financial constraints but also the local capacity for retrofitting or building resilient shelters (number of skilled carpenters and masons) and the availability of local construction materials. Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 7

This assessment form was designed for a discussion at community level, with the village leader and a group of 5 to 20 villagers depending on the size of the village. In order to have a more realistic picture of the needs, specific attention was paid to the difference between houses and households. The group discussion was completed by direct observations and pictures to illustrate the housing conditions in the sample villages.

2.2 Data collection teams The assessment was carried out in the field by Solidarités International (SOL) in collaboration with Noble Compassionate Volunteers (NCV), Swan Yee Development Foundation (SYDF), Save the Children (SC), IOM, and with the financial cooperation from UN-Habitat. Solidarités International organized three training sessions for the field assessment teams (enumerators and/or supervisors) according to the following schedule:

Table 1 Training sessions for data collection teams Number of participants Location Date SOL NCV SC SC SYDF Yangon 23 Dec. 6 Sittwe 27 Dec. 1 9 2 Myebon 29 Dec. 5 12 2 4

During these training sessions, participants were carefully explained the objectives of the joint assessment, the content of the questionnaire and the data collection method, through focus group discussions. A specific attention was paid to clarify the different levels of destruction and the meaning of shelter self-recovery. It was also an opportunity to remind all participant agencies to carry out a field test of the questionnaire with their teams before collecting the data. They were also requested to include MIMU P-codes in all the filled questionnaires for improved information coordination and mapping.

Training of enumerators in Myebon 2.3 Village Sampling Considering the primary objective of this assessment (to estimate the shelter self-recovery rate), the sample was purposely focused on areas / Village Tracts (VT) where the percentage of collapsed houses is higher. The decision to select more villages in Myebon than in the three other main affected townships was based on UNDP assessment findings for house damage: 96% of households affected in Myebon in comparison to 53% to 56% in the three other townships, and 40% of houses collapsed in Myebon in comparison to 11% to 21% in the three other townships4. After a review of the data available from UNDP, 120 sample villages Group discussion

4 Calculated from UNDP Rapid Assessment – Myebon, Minbya, Pauktaw and Kyaukphyu townships

8 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

were randomly selected in the most affected VT of Myebon, Pauktaw, Minbya and Kyaukpyu townships. Each partner agency was assigned one or several areas or townships. The main constraint faced during the field assessment was the inaccuracy of some of the villages’ name and/or their location. Although they have P-codes and are recorded in MIMU database, some sample villages were actually found to be sub-villages of the same single village, and others had been merged more than 25 years ago. Finally data was obtained on 112 villages in 50 VT with the following breakdown: Direct observation of current living

Table 2 Breakdown of sample villages, by township and agency Agency Township Total % IOM SC SYDF SOL/NCV Kyaukpyu 24 24 21,4% Minbya 10 11 21 18,8% Myebon 9 33 42 37,5% Pauktaw 17 8 25 22,3% Total 17 41 10 44 112 100%

2.4 Data Entry, Data Analysis and Reporting Solidarités International compiled and analyzed the data collected by the different partners and drafted the present report. UN-Habitat reviewed and validated this report and ensured its publication and dissemination amongst shelter stakeholders.

3. Assessment Findings 3.1 Assessment Coverage and Demographic Data The assessment covered approximately 16% of the whole population of the four targeted townships:

Table 3 Population covered by the joint assessment, by township Total Pop. in Total Pop. in Township Coverage sample Township5 Kyaukpyu 20, 091 148, 162 14% Minbya 12, 888 184, 199 7% Myebon 34, 696 118, 662 29% Pauktaw 28, 441 167, 292 17% Total 96, 116 618, 315 16%

5 Source: MIMU, 29 November 2010 (as per September 2010 figures from Government). Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 9

Considering that the total population affected by Cyclone Giri in the four townships was estimated at 260,000 people, the sample represents approximately 37% of the affected population. The average household size in the 112 sample villages is 4.5 persons. The ratio of the number of households to the number of houses is 1.1 on average, and does not vary much from one township to another.

Table 4 Total number of households and houses in the sample villages, and average village size, by township

Total No of Total No of Average village size Township HHs houses HHs Pop. Kyaukpyu 4,747 4,314 198 837 Minbya 2,823 2,497 134 614 Myebon 7,846 7,034 187 826 Pauktaw 5,928 5,350 237 1,138 Total 21,344 19,195 191 858

3.2 Destruction Level Results indicate that in the worst hit areas, more than one third of the houses were fully destroyed by the cyclone, another third were partially damaged, and only 11% were not affected at all. As shown in table below, Myebon was by far the most affected township, with almost half of the houses destroyed in the assessed areas. In contrast, the majority of affected houses in Kyaukpyu only sustained partial or small damages.

Table 5 Level of house destruction and damage in the worst hit areas, by township Total No Destruction Partial damage Small damage Total affected Township of houses in sample No % No % No % No % Kyaukpyu 4,314 467 11% 1,136 26% 1,645 38% 3,248 75% Minbya 2,497 795 32% 803 32% 739 30% 2,337 94% Myebon 7,034 3,427 49% 2,298 33% 1,128 16% 6,853 97% Pauktaw 5,350 1,775 33% 1,943 36% 988 18% 4,706 88% Total 19,195 6,464 34% 6,180 32% 4,500 23% 17,144 89%

The above figures can be usefully compared with figures obtained by other agencies. Save the Children selected and assessed 18 villages of Kyaukpyu regardless of the extent of shelter damage in the area: less than 11% of the houses in these villages were found to be fully destroyed. In the same way, ACF collected the same data in 9 villages of Minbya (also selected regardless of extent of shelter damage), where they observed a level of destruction of only 12%. Both figures tend to show that the joint assessment sampling was quite right as regards the house destruction levels.

10 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

Examples of house destruction and damage:

Destroyed house Destroyed house

Partially damaged house House with small damage

As shown in the map and table below, the levels of destruction and damage vary quite a lot across the sample and within each township. Table below indicates most affected Village Tracts within the 4 townships, for prioritization. For example, in Kyaukpyu, villages located in Gone Chein VT had a much higher level of destruction (48% on average) than other villages. Table 6 Variation of house destruction and damage levels across the four affected townships Destruction range, by “Total affected” Township Most affected sample VT village range, by village Kyaukpyu 0-76% 8-100% Gone Chein Yin Chaung, La Har Kyay, Thar Yar Minbya 14-66% 56-100% Kone Moe Thee Nat Taung, Ah Ngu, Ohn Chaung, Laung Da Reik, Yoe Sa Nwin, Myebon 12-99% 64-100% Nga Shwe Pyin, Taung Shey, Kyun Thar Yar, Sat Tet, Pyayt Chaung, Sin Kyat, Yae Shin Byaing Thit, Tha Yet Chaung, Pon Nar Pauktaw 4-94% 55-100% Gyi, Sin Paik

Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 11

Map 1 Level of house destruction in the worst hit areas of the four affected townships

12 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

3.3 Self-recovery Rate and Estimated Level of Needs 3.3.1 Current level of self-recovery At the beginning of January 2011 i.e. more than 2 months after the cyclone, half of the sample villages indicate more than 91% of destroyed/damaged houses remain without rehabilitation, and will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. In almost one third (32%) of the villages, villagers reported that there was not a single house fully repaired yet. Most of these villages were amongst the worst affected ones (mean destruction level of 54% and above, and mean proportion of affected houses reaching 98%). Disaggregated data by township show that self recovery is slowest in Pauktaw (only 17% of affected houses already repaired fully); however the proportion of houses not repaired at all is much higher in Myebon (43%) than in the three other townships (see figures and map below).

Figure 2 Current level of shelter self recovery in the worst hit areas, by township

Proportion of affected houses fully repaired in the sample villages (as of 05 January 2011)

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% Kyaukpyu Minbya Myebon Pauktaw Total

Examples of house repair::

Fully repaired house Partially repaired house Partially repaired houses using materials received during emergency distribution Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 13

Map 2 Level of shelter self recovery in the worst hit areas of the four affected townships

Houses that suffered small or partial damages during the cyclone were found to be the ones that people have already repaired partially or fully. They often used for this type of repair the materials they received during the emergency phase e.g. tarpaulins to cover part of the roof and to replace a missing wall. In many cases however, self-repaired houses are not strong enough and do not have any disaster resilience features.

14 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

Figure 3 Proportion of affected houses not yet repaired in the worst hit areas, by township

Proportion of affected houses that have not been repaired at all in the sample villages (as of 05 January 2011)

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% Kyaukpyu Minbya Myebon Pauktaw Total

Approximately 20,000 fully destroyed houses have not been recovered yet (15,000 households are living with host families and another 5,000 are living in temporary makeshift shelters), meaning that more than 104,000 people still remain homeless or without adequate basic shelter. Based on the assumption that the majority of houses that are still not repaired are the ones that were fully destroyed, the number of houses not repaired represents almost three quarters (74%) of the number of houses destroyed by the cyclone, in the assessed area. If this ratio is extrapolated to the estimated number of houses destroyed in the whole Giri affected area (20,000+), it can be estimated that approximately 15,000 fully destroyed houses are still in the same condition as right after the cyclone. For the 5,000+ destroyed houses where people started to repair, field observations made during the assessment indicate that the level of repair does not ensure proper living conditions. We can therefore conclude that approximately 20,000 fully destroyed houses have not been recovered yet, meaning that more than 104,000 people still remain homeless or without adequate basic shelter.

3.3.2 Estimated level of shelter repair and reconstruction needs As part of the assessment, villagers were asked to estimate the number of houses that will not be rebuilt or repaired before the next rainy season. In the 112 sample villages, this figure was estimated as over 9,600 houses; meaning that approximately 48,000 persons will not be able to recover housing conditions to pre-cyclone level. The proportion of houses that are not expected to be rebuilt or repaired is particularly high in Pauktaw and Myebon, representing over two thirds of affected houses.

Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 15

Table 7 Proportion of affected houses that will not be repaired by next monsoon, by township Total No Houses that will not be repaired before of next rainy season Township affected houses No % Kyaukpyu 3 248 841 26% Minbya 2 337 610 26% Myebon 6 853 4 546 66% Pauktaw 4 706 3 694 78% Total 17 144 9 691 57%

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Map 3 Expected level of shelter repair needs before next monsoon in the worst hit areas of the four affected townships Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 17

If this figure of 9,691 houses in sample area is then extrapolated to the whole Giri affected area, where a total of 51,944 houses were collapsed or damaged according to latest Government figures6, at least 29,500 affected houses may not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. In addition, the 22,000+ houses that have been or might be self-repaired are very unlikely to meet minimum standards for disaster resilience as was observed during this field assessment. In a context of cash shortage and livelihoods disruption at community and household levels, self recovery will most probably push many affected families into debt. The following chart sums up the destruction levels and estimated needs for the whole Giri affected areas:

52,000 affected houses Fully destroyed: Damaged: 20,000 32,000

15,000 14,500

= 29,500 without any kind of recovery by next monsoon

It is also worth looking at the self-recovery rate, village wise. For as many as 35% of the sample villages, it is expected that over 90% of affected houses will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. These villages have an average level of house destruction well above the sample mean (55% as against 38%). The assessment indicates that there are very few villages where houses were fully recovered. Indeed, only 3 sample villages out of the 112 (2.7%) will not have any houses left to be repaired or rebuilt by the monsoon according to the group discussions7.

3.3.3 Main Constraints Faced by Affected Households to Repair or Rebuild Their House The lack of cash is cited as the main constraint mentioned for householders inability to repair/rebuild themselves with 88% of the sample villages, reporting this as the top constraint. This is particularly clear for Minbya where it was the main problem for all sample villages (see figure below).

6 Source: Emergency Shelter Cluster, 10 November 2010. 7 One of these villages had actually no house destroyed by the cyclone. Another one (Nga Pa Thon) is one of the biggest villages in Myebon affected area, which suffered 30% destruction but where the needs were somewhat played down due to external pressure in the village during assessment.

18 Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area

Figure 4 Top reason for the villagers’ inability to repair their houses, by township

Top constraint for house self-recovery

lack of cash lack of materials No / loss of source of income % of sample villages 100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% Kyaukpyu Minbya Myebon Pauktaw Total

The lack of construction materials was the first concern in a few villages (4% of sample) and to a higher degree in Pauktaw Township (12%). However, if we look at the whole constraints mentioned whatever their ranking, it seems the lack of materials might be an issue in a number of villages (more than two thirds of the sample). Construction material availability at village level is relatively limited according to observations in the sample villages. In some villages, people usually collect wood and bamboo for their own needs from the nearby hills, although this is considered illegal. However, nearly all big timbers have been cut in the 1990s when logging companies used to operate in the area. Thatch roof materials such as nipa palm leaves are sometimes available in Minbya villages but relatively rare in Myebon and Kyaukpyu affected villages. Other construction materials such as zinc roof, nails are not available in the villages but can be found in shops in the main towns. However, most affected households will probably not be able to afford such materials. Construction tools were said to be missing. The lack of time was also reported as an important constraint in approximately two thirds of the sample villages. This is likely to be related to other reasons mentioned, in particular the fact that affected people are now still focusing on their more immediate needs (food and to a lesser extent water). Except in a few villages, technical skills and manpower availability do not seem to be major constraints. For instance, local people usually know how to make bamboo mats for flooring or partition walls. This finding is also related to the relatively high number of skilled carpenters and masons in the affected area. In the 112 sample villages, they are no less than 597 carpenters and 133 masons, which means 6 to 7 skilled construction workers per village on average. Less than 15% of sample villages have no skilled carpenter at all.

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Figure 5 Reasons mentioned by villagers to explain their inability to repair their houses

Main reasons for the inability to repair (all answers mentioned, without ranking) % of sample villages 100% 90% 80% 70% Kyaukpyu 60% Minbya 50% Myebon 40% Pauktaw 30% Total 20% 10% 0% Lack of Lack of Lack of Lack of time Lack of Other cash materials technical manpower constraint skills

Other reasons for not being able to repair damage houses are much related to the lack of cash: in 32% of sample villages, people mentioned the loss of their income source or the current lack of job opportunities. Other main reasons also include poor transport conditions or means (for 7% of the sample, with a particularly higher level in Pauktaw – 20% of sample villages), the fact that people are currently busy with fulfilling other basic needs (6% of sample, but only mentioned in Kyaukpyu villages), and their higher concern for food availability (3% of sample).

4. Conclusion and recommendations House destruction levels were very high. In the worst hit areas, more than one third of the houses were fully destroyed by the cyclone. The joint assessment confirmed that Myebon was by far the most affected township. Although affected people have started to repair their house with salvaged materials and the emergency kits they received (e.g. tarpaulins), shelter self recovery is slow and leaves entire villages neglected without support. As of the beginning of January 2011, half of the sampled villages indicate more than 91% of destroyed/damaged houses remain without rehabilitation,. The proportion of houses not repaired at all is much higher in Myebon (43%) than in the three other townships. The number of people who have not recovered their pre-cyclone housing conditions is still dramatically high. Based on extrapolation from assessment figures, an estimated 20,000 houses that fully collapsed during Giri have not been recovered yet, meaning that more than 104,000 people are still without adequate basic shelters as of January 2011. Some affected households have started to repair or rebuild their houses. However, these are often not up to minimum standards for disaster resilience, and self recovery will inevitably have negative impacts on households’ financial situation. b Shelter still needs to be considered as a top priority that requires external assistance during the early recovery phase.

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b Shelter recovery efforts should target first Myebon Township, where destruction levels were higher and full recovery is slower. b Further assessment should be conducted to look at and quantify the actual impacts of shelter self recovery on household financial resources and debt levels. A large proportion of affected houses will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season should there be no external support. Based on communities’ forecast, it is expected that 57% of affected houses in the worst hit areas will not be repaired before the next monsoon. In Pauktaw and Myebon townships, over two thirds of affected Koke Ko village, Myebon Tsp houses are likely to remain unrepaired. In villages where destruction levels were high, villagers will not be able to recover decent living conditions before the next rainy season. For as many as 35% of the sample villages, it is expected that over 90% of affected houses will not be repaired or rebuilt before the next rainy season. The average level of house destruction of this category of villages is particularly high. b Considering that the poorest households (i.e. small scale farmers or fishermen, and casual workers) used to have the weakest shelters amongst the community prior to Giri, and now account for the majority of households Ngan Taung village, Myebon Tsp whose house was totally destroyed, support is required for those households that will not be able to rebuild and will be forced spend the coming rainy season(s) in dwellings far below minimum humanitarian standards. b Considering only 3-4 months now remain before the next rainy season, shelter recovery activities need to start urgently to make the most of the dry season. b The rainy season runs from June till October and is amongst the heaviest in the world (with an average annual rainfall of 5 meters). Several storms with winds of over 75 mph occur every year as well as regular cyclones from the Bay of Bengal (in 2004, Mala in 2006 and Giri Pyin Wan village, Myebon Tsp in 2010). As a consequence, shelter standards in the area of intervention should be higher than in the Ayeyarwaddy delta and stakeholders involved in shelter recovery should aim for shelters with disaster resilient structure and features at a unit cost of at least USD 600 for a new shelter, and USD 175 for a ‘repair package’ (walling, roofing or flooring). b The replacement value for 20,000 fully destroyed houses which are not likely to be rebuilt without external assistance is USD 12 million. Another 14,500 damaged houses are expected to remain unrepaired until the next rainy season, and the total repair value would then amount to USD 2.54 million. The total shelter recovery Pyin Wan village, Myebon Tsp Current living conditions for the poorest households Comprehensive Joint Assessment of the Shelter Situation in Cyclone Giri Affected Area 21

cost can therefore be estimated at USD 14.54 million. b DRR knowledge must be improved and spread within the communities as a component of shelter construction. In case no funding is made available for shelter, appropriate IEC materials should at least be shared with local communities for them to be able to build back better their houses. The lack of cash is by far the main constraint to shelter self recovery, and is compounded by the strong disruption of livelihoods, which is likely to continue in the coming months. The lack of construction materials is also perceived as a barrier, probably because many materials are sourced out of the affected areas and people cannot afford to buy them anymore. Technical skills and manpower availability do not seem to be major constraints. Local capacities for retrofitting or building shelters are one the affected communities’ assets early recovery interventions will have to integrate. b These results indicate that shelter reconstruction should be community-led, and they also advocate for a stronger link between shelter and livelihood recovery intervention, also considering that shelter provision is one of the most effective direct and indirect livelihood generators. If no funds are directly allocated to the shelter sector, at least some should be to recovery interventions that procure cash or incomes to affected people to support them in rehabilitating their homes without entering debt spirals. b The number of people who have not recovered their pre-cyclone housing conditions is still dramatically high. Based on extrapolation from assessment figures, an estimated 15,000 houses that fully collapsed during Giri have not been recovered yet. Some affected households have started to repair or rebuild their houses. However, these are often not up to minimum standards for disaster resilience, and self recovery will inevitably have negative impacts on households’ financial situation. Overall, it was estimated that more than 104,000 people are still without adequate basic shelters as of January 2011.