Design and Construction of Housing for Flood-Prone Rural Areas Of
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Handbook on Design and Construction of Housing for Flood-Prone Rural Areas of Bangladesh The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is a regional resource center dedicated to disaster reduction for safer communities and sustainable development through disaster reduction in Asia and the Pacific. Established in 1986 in Bangkok, Thailand, ADPC is recognized as an important focal point for promoting disaster awareness and developing capacities to foster institutionalized disaster management and mitigation policies. The Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center (BDPC), established in 1996 in Dhaka, works towards the goal of integration of disaster management into development planning at the national level through research, training, documentation, awareness building, etc. CARE Bangladesh is a part of CARE International, one of the world’s largest private international humanitarian organizations, enabling families in poor communities to improve their lives and overcome poverty. Working in Bangladesh since 1949, CARE partners with communities, community based organizations, the Government and national NGOs to identify and confront root causes of the poverty. The Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme under the Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management is an initiative to achieve a paradigm shift in disaster management from conventional response and relief to a more comprehensive risk reduction culture. It works in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), which are major sponsors. BRAC University, an institution of BRAC, which is one of the largest non-governmental organizations is the world, provides tertiary level education to support the national development process. It runs several courses and programmes related to development and disaster management. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States. USAID is currently supporting the implementation of ADPC's Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program. The Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) of ADPC Bangkok is a ten-year (1995-2005) program designed to reduce the natural disaster vulnerability of urban populations, infrastructure, critical facilities and shelters in Asian citie s. AUDMP aims to demonstrate the importance of and strategic approaches to urban disaster mitigation as part of the urban development planning process. AUDMP projects are being implemented in 10 countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Handbook on Design and Construction of Housing for Flood-prone Rural Areas of Bangladesh January 2005 Published by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in partnership with Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center CARE-Bangladesh Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management/ Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme BRAC University with support from United States Agency for International Development Advisory Committee This handbook is published under the Asian Urban Disaster Dr. Suvit Yodmani, ADPC, Bangkok Mitigation Program (AUDMP) of ADPC Bangkok for Mr. Earl Kessler, ADPC, Bangkok sharing knowledge and experiences from the participating Mr. Aloysius J. Rego, ADPC, Bangkok countries in the project. It is made available by the Asian Prof. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, BRAC University, Dhaka Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangkok, Thailand, with minimal editing. The opinions expressed herein are those Review Committee of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mr. Golam Kabir, USAID Bangladesh Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangladesh Disaster Mr. Muhammad Saidur Rahman, BDPC Bangladesh Preparedness Center, Care-Bangladesh, Bangladesh Mr. Monzu Morshed, CARE Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management/ Mr. NMSI Arambepola, ADPC Bangkok Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, BRAC Mr. Rajesh Sharma, ADPC Bangkok University or the U.S. Agency for International Development. Publication of this handbook was made possible through support provided by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, United States Agency for Author: Dr. K. Iftekhar Ahmed International Development, under the terms of Cooperative Agreement No. DFD-A-00-03-00077-00. Drawings by the author with support from Mr. Kh.Hasibul Kabir The contents of this handbook may be freely quoted with and Mr. Ekushey Ahmed for cover drawings. Photographs by the credit given to the implementing institutions, Asian author or as credited. Disaster Preparedness Center and to the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development. ISBN: 984-32-2163-X Printed by Nymphea, 67/D, Panthapath, Dhaka-1209, Bangladesh Copyright© ADPC 2005 PREFACE It is with great pleasure that ADPC presents the handbook on “Design and Construction of Housing for Flood-Prone Rural Areas of Bangladesh”. It is a well-known fact that Bangladesh is a highly flood-prone country. As the result of annual floods, significant number of houses in the countryside as well as in urban areas is being destroyed annually. In recent floods during year 2004 we have seen a total or partial destruction to significant number of rural houses making about 1 million people homeless. To a large extent, the patterns and causes of destruction seem to result from poor technical knowledge and wrong perceptions. There is no adequate support for housing projects for low-income, flood-vulnerable communities through development projects undertaken by NGOs and the government, and dwelling houses in rural areas and urban slums are mostly owner-built without proper technical guidance. ADPC under its Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) has supported CARE Bangladesh in implementation of Bangladesh Urban Disaster Mitigation project (BUDMP) in six municipalities. One of the AUDMP findings of post- disaster losses of the housing stock in Bangladesh after 2004 floods is that most of these designs are prepared by people who are not trained as building professionals, so when implemented, many problems emerge. The usual tendency is to apply the same model irrespective of the context. In most cases, the cost is significantly prohibitive in terms of microcredit recovery from poor people and this high cost prevents providing subsidized housing to a large number of people who need them. There is thus a need for developing housing which is appropriate for flood-prone areas, where the suggested solutions can be made 'cost-effective' through rationalization of economy without compromising quality. While there have been successful initiatives towards improving the performance of new construction by incorporation of appropriate designs, cost-effective flood-resistant techniques and building materials in the building construction process in many countries, little has been done in Bangladesh to that effect. It is generally anticipated that house owners, local masons and small contractors will continue to play significant role in the building construction process for low-income groups, and any improvement in their skills in flood-resistant construction can significantly help to improve the quality standards of non-engineered buildings and hence considerable reduction in loss of human lives and properties during floods. The author Dr. K. Iftekhar Ahmed has presented number of improvements in the handbook, which can be easily adopted in the building construction and guidelines suggested by him through longstanding experience in low cost house design in Bangladesh are easy to follow. Therefore particular thanks are extended to him and his graphic designers Mr. Kh. Hasibul Kabir and Ekushey Ahmed for their contributions in developing this handbook. Thanks are due to my colleagues of the advisory committee Mr. Earl Kessler (ADPC), Mr. Aloysius J. Rego (ADPC) and Prof. Jamilur Reza Choudhury (BRAC University). Thanks also to the technical review committee members Mr. Golam Kabir (USAID, Bangladesh), Mr. Muhammad Saidur Rahman, Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center (BDPC), Mr. Monzu Morshed of CARE, Bangladesh and ADPC colleagues Mr. N.M.S.I. Arambepola and Mr. Rajesh Sharma. ADPC expects to disseminate the handbook among government and private sector institutions, international funding organizations, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private voluntary development organizations (PVDOs), community based organizations (CBOs), micro-financing institutions and other groups willing to support new housing projects, post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation projects or projects on housing strengthening/ retrofitting. We firmly believe that this joint effort of ADPC and its partners in CARE-Bangladesh and Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center (BDPC) in bringing out this Handbook on “Design and Construction of Housing for Flood-Prone Rural Areas of Bangladesh” will contribute to safer buildings in flood prone areas of Bangladesh. Dr. Suvit Yodmani Executive Director ADPC, Bangkok January 2005 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 4 INTRODUCTION EARTH CONSTRUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE FOR PRODUCING THIS HANDBOOK 4.1 LIMITATIONS 1.2 KEY FACILITATORS 4.2 REMEDIAL MEASURES 1.3 TARGET GROUPS 4.3 STABILIZED EARTH CONSTRUCTION METHODS 1.4 HOUSING TYPES 4.4 DESIGN ASPECTS 1.5 REASONS FOR DAMAGE TO HOUSING IN 4.5 ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF CEMENT- FLOODS STABILIZATION 1.6 EFFECTS