Haiti Earthquake Reconstruction Knowledge Notes from ... - GFDRR

16 | Haiti Earthquake Reconstruction
resource. In designing a transitional shelter, therefore,
materials need to be selected that will be suitable
for resale after the shelter is dismantled.
POST DISASTER TRANSITIONAL
SHELTER IN HISTORY
1963 – Skopje Earthquake (Macedonia)
20,000 temporary housing units on sites about
10 km from the city center.
1972 – Managua Earthquake (Nicaragua)
5,000 housing units in secondary cities.
1976 – Guatemala City Earthquake
(Guatemala)
10,000 serviced lots in Guatemala City.
2001 – Gujarat Earthquake (India)
Materials for bamboo-framed, thatch-roofed
units.
2003 – Bam Earthquake (Iran)
Camps established outside the city and 18 m 2
of prefabricated houses in urban areas.
2005 – North Pakistan Earthquake
(Pakistan)
Reusable dome-shaped transitional shelters
and recycled material salvaged from debris.
2008 – Jogyakarta Earthquake (Indonesia)
25 million sticks of bamboo provided for
transitional settlements.
2009 – Abruzzo Earthquake (Italy)
4,500 temporary apartments within apartment
blocks newly reconstructed.
ISSUES OF IMMEDIATE CONCERN
If a transitional shelter strategy is not yet in
place, steps need to be taken immediately to
develop one, in consultation with the affected
population. This plan lays out a policy framework
on the number and types of proposed shelters, a
timeframe for their development, provision of related
facilities and services, and a plan for communicating
with the public.
The affected population should be consulted
on shelter options. The preferences may be
community-specific, and the choices of the communities
should be respected. Women, in general,
spend more time in the shelter, so their input into
the design of the transitional shelter is essential for
a successful program.
Allowing the renewal of livelihoods as soon
as possible. The likelihood of a successful program
increases with the rapid return to livelihoods.
Transportation should be provided to new and former
sources of livelihoods.
Develop a plan for basic services. This includes
the provision of potable water, proper sanitation
and health facilities, and education for children in
tandem with the transitional shelter plan.
Ensure transitional shelter is resistant to future
disasters and the climate specific to Haiti. For
example, in the summer, families slashed windows
in the tents provided after the Pakistan earthquake,
rendering them useless the following winter.
Recyclable. The transitional shelter is inhabited
while parallel reconstruction activities take place.
The transitional shelter is gradually dismantled
during the reconstruction process, and the material
from the transitional shelter is used in the construction
of a permanent shelter solution for the
family. ii
MEDIUM-TERM CONCERNS IN
TRANSITIONAL SHELTER PROGRAMS
People displaced by the same disaster often have
been affected to different degrees, and thus respond
accordingly. Some will be able to begin reconstruction
of their partially damaged housing
only days after the disaster. Others will continue to
be displaced for a prolonged period, and perhaps