srilankanparliamentonnaturaldisasters

RESETTLEMENT OF TSUNAMI VICTIMS-

The shock has subsided to some extent though the pain is still present. Immediate relief operations at least to a certain extent had been streamlined with the help of many though there are certain steps still required to make it to the total satisfaction of the victims. However with immediate response measures consolidating, Housing for Tsunami victims has started getting a higher attention. But housing tsunami victims still remain a grey area.

It is so complicated that probably it requires a better name than housing; Relocation and resettlement in a way could be more meaningful to describe the need.

There are various issues to resolve before the government and the other parties could agree and come out with a solution.

1.	Where to resettle (what areas are safe and what areas not? Is zoning possible?)
2.	Where to find land to locate people in safer areas?
3.	What kind of structures would be appropriate for each zone (if a zoning the area for high, medium and low risk is possible)
4.	Are there structural solutions to mitigate tsunamis than resettlement or constructing tsunami resistant buildings (such as tsunami barriers)
5.	Would they be cost effective at least in areas where land is expensive and resettlement involves lot of issues such as livelihood issues?
6.	How are we going to resolve the livelihood issue? Are we going to give them alternative livelihood options?
7.	What actions the countries frequently affected by tsunami have taken in safeguarding its people?
8.	Would a very effective tsunami warning system be part of a solution that needs to be considered in a resettlement effort?

Unless these issues are addressed adequately solutions proposed for resettlement would be costly, not feasible and inappropriate.

It is likely to take some time and therefore there is a strong case for putting up temporary shelter.

Even temporary shelter is not without hazels. Land could be an issue, provide basic amenities could be an issue, etc. and etc.

Hence it would be necessary to give even a quicker solution to the tsunami victims who are suffering in makeshift refugee camps that suddenly cropped up to fill the immediate need.

Hence we need to buy time if we are to go for a prudent long lasting solution by addressing the immediate needs of people who are still sheltered in the temple, “kovils”, mosques, churches and even schools.

	Immediate response
Reduce the congestion of the existing camps by
1	Giving financial incentives for people who might move in to friends, relatives and even rented out houses
2	Spreading them in to near by locations which can be immediately convert in to refugee camp (make them manageable) and giving those who like to manage those camps (again with some financial incentives for camp management)
3	Giving more (mobile) facilities to the existing camps and make the life much easier
Cluster the families so that families with same kinds of needs gather together helping each other. One possible basis for clustering could be
1	Families having infants
2	Families having school going
3	Families having children studying for AL
4	Families with adults to look after
5	Single parent families (single mothers and single fathers separately)
6	Children without parents, etc

Empower them to manage the camps so that they would be engaged usefully and would be ready to take up life tasks again quickly. Introduce more transparent and accountable methods of relief distributions by getting the participation of the people. Reduce the political conflicts that had engulfed relief operations creating other issues by creating a set of values. Those could include

	Not using this calamity for gaining personal or organization advantage other than that comes naturally by the acts of good faith
	Not going in to confrontation with each other engage in relief work
	Always work in conjunction with the camp management before approaching the refugees directly
	Consider the health and well being of the refugees above every other thing
	Be considerate about the refugees and honor their dignity

The above is especially required to buy time before a temporary shelter could be provided.

Temporary shelter There are various NGOs and INGOs, Governement organizations both national and foreign, providing temporary shelter solutions. If the Government or any other organization is in a position to find land for permanent settlement it is always better to provide the temporary shelter within such blocks itself as it will expedite people moving to permanent houses. If money can be allocated and plans for temporary shelters are available, even the temporary shelters can be erected on permanent foundations, which later can be incorporated to the final foundation of the houses. This will eliminate the cost of temporary foundation and also the temporary floor. The temporary shelter can be erected using timber elements, which can be used for the roof and other features of the permanent shelter later. Even the roofing materials such as GI sheets can be salvaged for the permanent shelter if carefully erected and removed later. In essence if the temporary shelter can be erected in a planned manner it could be done with lesser cost and the cost thus saved for the country can be used for other rehabilitation work of the affected people. There are various issues that have to be considered in building temporary shelter to ensure dignified living to the affected people, while reducing the cost.
1	Give the people privacy (one unit for one family)
2	Ensure privacy even with the family (at least two rooms in one unit)
3	Ensure common amenities such as toilets adequately and make privacy and manageability when those amenities are provided (limited number of families sharing one toilet/washing room where separate female and male toilets/washing rooms are available)
4	Ensure sufficient minimum space (200 sqft)
5	Ensure sufficient fire gaps between houses
6	Ensure private space for each family or at least cluster of families
7	Sufficient road width
8	Sufficient ventilation and lighting
9	Individual cooking (assuming that temporary shelter going to serve the people at some places an year or little longer)
10	Service areas to be put in a line so that cost of providing amenities become low
11	Common space such as community hall (to gather to watch a TV, etc.), office when appropriate (where relief distributions are likely to continue for some more time) and a play ground located at one corner (to reduce the disturbances)
Centre for Housing Planning and Building along with ITDG South Asia has made a proposal to this effect and is available in the web (www.chpb.gov.lk). The web provides information such as plans for single, twin, four in a series temporary shelters and community layouts with amenities. It also gives the estimates for the single, twin and four in a series houses with materials list for each. If we take sufficient care in putting up the temporary shelter in the above manner we might have some breathing space to think of a viable and a lasting solution to problems associated with building a safe, cost effective and feasible permanent settlement to the affected people. Permanent housing The question I raised at the beginning of the article should be resolved if we are going to have a safer and viable solution. One more question that would be relevant would be to see the possibility of another tsunami attack to the island. Though no body can make such predictions to a precision, it would be useful to find out whether the experts could give us the probability of such reoccurring in near future. If it is very rare, we can even think of going back to the same places with a tsunami warning system, in case something happens! If there is a significant probability then the solutions have to be thought out. There could be a zone where relocating people are not feasible for many reasons (cost of alternative land, livelihood issues, etc). Feasibility of having tsunami barriers for those areas to protect from a possible tsunami attack could be thought of. We might also have to consider reclassifying the possible danger zone in to different classes; high risk, medium risk and low risk Probably high-risk area can be left out but for medium and low risk areas buildings with limited occupancy (both in number and nature) can be considered. For example, though a hospital or home for disabled will not be allowed in such an area, a training school for adults that operates only in daytime could be put up (with vertical evacuation possibility and tsunami warning system in place). Bedrooms can be avoided in the ground floor of the buildings in medium and low risk areas, but garages, stores, recreation, can be allowed. Those buildings in the medium and low risk zones can be so designed or redesigned to take the impact and draft of both incoming and receding tsunami waves; both structurally and hydraulically. Multi-story construction would be one way to combat the threat of tsunami. It gives a framed structure and weight that can withstand lateral and overturning moments (Prof Dias in the same seminar) and possibility of vertical evacuation. They should be aligned perpendicular to the shore and not parallel to the shore and also should have sufficient gaps in between for the tsunami wave to travel without endangering it. Not only the super structure but also the foundations could be designed to take the impact of the positive pressures that builds up with the incoming wave and pore pressures that builds up at the time of receding (as suggested by a former Director of Buildings in the seminar organized by Society of Structural engineers of Sri Lanka). They also can be designed for safe collapsing (as suggested by Prof. Priyan Dias in the same seminar) in case the impact is unusually big. Building materials The materials we are likely to use in reconstruction are going to create a fresh set of problems if we are not careful enough. Extracting sand from rivers is going to be detrimental to the already battered coastal line, which usually gets replenished by the sand brought in, by the rivers to shore. Extracting lime also will reduce the natural tsunami barrier already reduced to a great extent by coral mining. Hence it is necessary to seek alternatives ways of producing sand and lime, or providing alternatives or to opt technologies that do not use either sand or lime. The technology promoted by NERD (National Engineering and Research Division) where quarry dust is the main material (hoping quarry dust will be available in large enough quantities despite it becoming a substitute for sand) and the technology promoted by the CHPB (Centre for Housing planning & Building) along with NBRO (National Building Research Organization), where sandy-clay soil is the main material would be of use (www.nerdc.lk and www.chpb.gov.lk for details). However limiting factor in both these technologies would be the slip form mould used, which costs about Rs. 15,000 to 20,000, to fabricate and Rs. 500 a week to hire at current prices. More than the price, availability of the mould in sufficient quantities would be an issue. The other issue would be to sell the technology to people, who have been used to brick or block work for a long time and might consider the material as inferior though both types of walls made using the alternative materials are much better than the conventional brick and block wall. Relocating Issues will not be over by resettling displaced people. Are the people who still living in coastal areas where there is either no damage or very little damage safe from a possible tsunami attack of which the epicenter of the triggering earthquake and the wave front thus generated would be different to what we experienced on 26th, December 2004? What are our solutions to protect these people who can be vulnerable in future? Though that may not sound as an immediate issue, it requires the same level of concern that we try to show in resettling people. Victims of War Any relocation and resettlement of tsunami victims have to be coupled with a solution to the already displaced people from war, which is though obvious might get slipped in the exercise, hence needs to be remembered and reminded of. Their agony is probably worse being prolonged for quite a time now. Conclusion Issues are complicated and trying to find out a blanket solution that could be applied across the board is not practicable and costly. Each area, community, situation, land, occupancy, nature of the building, has to be considered separately and solutions formed for resettling people. Hence it will require time and expert consultations. Therefore it is necessary that all stages of resettlement be given adequate consideration than trying to jump leaps. In an expert consultation, it is necessary to include, coastal engineers, structural engineers, hydraulics engineers, architects, town planners, service providers, all the representatives of the construction industry (Contractors, suppliers, consultants, etc.), engineers and technical officers of local authorities, Officials of UDA, Divisional Secretaries, communication experts (who can contribute in designing and planning a local tsunami early warning system as global system is already in the offing) and also expertise from countries experiencing frequent tsunamis. They are to be regionally grouped giving responsibility of rebuilding each area, getting grass root community participation. Issuing orders from Colombo by few professionals picked at random will not going to solve the resettlement issue fully. Nishantha Kamaladasa Director Centre for Housing planning & Building