SCG Barisal Field trip report

Outline of presentation Trip overview Field locations Agencies consulted Executive summary Current responses Remaining shelter needs Technical notes Vernacular construction Skills and material availability What was unsuccessful What was successful Conclusions Coordination Technical

Barisal Field Trip Itinerary -Site inspection Team 7th -Travel from Dhaka to Barisal 8th -Shelter Cluster Meeting in Barisal 9th -Shelter Cluster meeting at Patuakhali -Site inspection in western Patuakhali 10th -Market survey for materials and components -Site inspection Union 4 Dawli -Villages Chorkhali, Goalkhali, Ranipur Union karabunia -Village karabunia Team Dave Hodgkin IFRC, SCG Team Sanjay CARE, SCG Team Sarabjit Oxfam GB/Red R Rumana Oxfam GB On ground support from SAP staff

Agencies consulted Barisal Patuakhali SCG meeting Government NGO’s DC , LG, and SDC and chief engineer of Barisal Sadar NGO’s 8 local 11 International 2 Un agencies Patuakhali DC, Assistant DC, Chief engineer 20 Local 5 International 1 UN agency

Executive Summary Although many families have recovered rapidly, Remaining shelter needs Self reconstruction has been high Delivered assistance has been low Many families remain in clear need of urgent assistance Better assessments need to occur Coordination needs and recommendations Coordination at a field level has been poor to date Government expresses inability to coordinate NGO’s and seeks assistance Better coordination needed at all levels Technical recommendations Overall need remains of high concern Current skills and materials are good, need minor improvement Need for braider based simple solutions that address reasons for failure Although many families have recovered rapidly, many still remain in urgent need of assistance

Current responses Most Shelter assistance appears to be focusing on: Limited NFI and Plastic sheeting distributions Limited cash grants from Government Limited numbers of agencies concentrating on RC houses Although outstanding needs are high there is: Little apparent concerted international shelter response No concerted assessment of outstanding need

Remaining Shelter needs Although self reconstruction has been high, many families remain in clear need of assistance. Exact numbers remain illusive The need for prioritization of shelter assistance, expressed by LNGO, INGO, Community and local government Basic shelter security remains a key issue for many families The non-triangulated nature of local construction has meant many houses collapsed and then were simply stood up again Plinth failure and total destruction has left other families unable to rebuild “They gave me 700 tents but I have over a million people homeless so we did not distribute them, what can we do” DC Barisal

Technical notes

Vernacular Construction Raised Earth Plinth (3-4ft) Buried brick or RC column pad footings 1ftw x 1ft x 1-2ftd Timber post and frame walls 4’’ x 4” posts Mixed cladding inc C.I., Flat metal sheet, timber panel and timber plank Timber roof frames C.I. roofing Single and two story constrcution Notes: Extremely limited use of bamboo Limited use of bricks or RC No thatching

Skills and materials Construction Skills High quality carpentry skills Combination of self build and tradespeople Material availability High volumes of fallen timber, Earth Limited bamboo, bricks or concrete Possible limitation in sand and gravel Hi availability of CI and fastenings

What was unsuccessful Siting Living outside embankments No access to cyclone shelter Living close to small rivers Structural Plinth failure Poor foundations, and no earth stabilisation Bracing failures Single fastenings at joints Roof framing Tiedown Lack of tie down throughout structures

What succeeded Structural Steel connectors at footings Good quality pad footings Double bolted or nailed connections Panel frame construction for bracing Strategy Living close to shelters Houses that could fall over and be rapidly re-erected House frames that stayed up and roofing could be replaced

Conclusions Although many families have recovered rapidly, many still remain in urgent need of assistance The exact scale of need remains far from clear

Coordination Recomendations Desperate need for increased reporting and dissemination Assessments Plans Progress Clear need for coordination at National District And Sub-district level Need to refocus on emergency and transitional shelter needs

Technical recomendations Programming Refocus on immediate shelter needs Refocus on broad based simple interventions rather than narrow complete solutions Strategic Support existing successful strategies Cyclone shelters Storm embankments Rapidly repairable housing Land and siting issues Land title and embankments Constructional Preserve and enhance existing reconstruction methods Support self reconstruction with improved training Improve Plinth and footing practice Improve roof framing and wall connection(bracing) Consider implications of partial or complete tiedown