Post disaster housing ten years after the Gujarat earthquake
FICCI‐CARE case study
David Sanderson, Anshu Sharma and Juliet Anderson
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake
• Struck at 08.46 on 26 January ‐
Republic Day
• between 14 000 and 20 000 people killed
• over 1.2 million houses damaged • 8000 villages affected, 490 in Kutch District • Cost of damage across Gujarat, £2.5 billion
FICCI‐CARE Gujarat Rehabilitation Programme
• Collaboration between an NGO and Indian Chambers of Commerce • Rebuilding of houses in 23 ‘adopted’
villages in worst affected areas
• US$30 million appeal
• Built 5554 permanent houses between 2001‐3
Nine years later …
Additions ….
Some wasted investments …
Some other housing What some people said
• ‘of course it’s good, I paid for it!’
• ‘they're rubbish!’ There is not enough mortar to hold the structure together ... The roof is no good’.
• ‘there’ve been 653 tremors since 2001 … if my house cracks at a three, then at a seven it will collapse’
• ‘we have children, we're scared.'
• ‘I’m proud of my house.’
A hypothesis ...
Some lessons
Ask people what they want and like!
Design houses, not ‘shelters’
Wealth brings options Trauma and fear lives on
An NGO subsidising wealthy people’s housing needs
• Post disaster housing is a developmental activity •
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