Post Earthquake Housing Construction Seminar Report

There are several natural disasters occurring throughout the world around the year and one of them is

Earthquake. The severe quakes wreak catastrophic havoc in the human community because of the destruction of structures - houses and buildings, bridges, roads, railways, and the uprooting of transmission towers. Along with death, the other distressing factor is the collapse of dwelling units. Death and destruction can be prevented or vastly minimized if the houses are structurally sound. In a poor country, a severe earthquake occurs every now and then, the problem of appropriate ‘safe’ housing must receive adequate attention from architects, engineers, builders, and owners of the property.

Nowadays the various waste products from big industries have been converted into useful building materials which can be used during post-earthquake housing construction, solving the problem of disposal on the one hand and providing better construction material at low cost on the other hand. Similarly, some agricultural wastes (as rice husk) have also been converted into building materials, which are very useful during the reconstruction phase as low-cost building materials. In the present seminar report a few low-cost building materials, which can be used during post-earthquake housing construction have been highlighted.

A study of the construction methods used by various agencies in disaster-affected areas points to the growing use of local resources and talents in present-day relief and reconstruction measures. In the case of rural areas, the houses can be constructed by using traditional and locally available raw materials of bamboo, cane, reeds, rattans, willow, timber, and leaves of some particular trees, and has been designed to suit the traditional living habits of local people and maintain their socio-cultural heritage. Further, there has been a growing feeling amongst the rural peoples that the old bamboo-thatch or leaf houses may be constructed with newer materials of RCC, precast-components, etc., using better engineering information and thereby, achieving more durability as well as extra living comfort in the process. 

Under these growing innovative concepts, concrete blocks, cement, wooden frames, and tiles that are locally made are most useful thereby encouraging many small-scale enterprises in the process. Although there seems to be a strong emphasis on the use of local resources in present-day relief aid, the important issue is not just the use of local resources, but how local manpower can be created. In most developing countries, the challenge is to organize and initiate measures that promote talent building. The seminar report presents a brief description of a few low-cost building materials, which can be used during post-earthquake housing construction.

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