Construction techniques to survival of flood in kerala
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After inadequate rains for the first 47 days of the southwest monsoon, Kerala had heavy rains starting July 18, bringing back the fear of the August 2018 floods.
In the August 2018 floods, 251227 houses in Kerala were severely damaged. Of these, 14886 collapsed. Today the State is striving to build flood-resistant houses.
The worst affected were the low-lying regions like Kuttanad in Alapuzha district and the Mundrothuruthu delta island in Kollam district. Here, different agencies are now constructing houses that they claim will withstand any kind of nature’s fury.
‘Housing Literacy’ is a term that’s lingering over any deliberation on rebuilding Kerala. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority is the agency mainly involved in spreading awareness about the need to construct flood-resistant houses in Kerala’s ecologically fragile regions.
In the runup to the observance of the first anniversary of the torrential floods that wreaked havoc in Kerala, causing a loss of Rs. 310 billion (31,000 crores) and claiming 483 lives, many Keralites are now graciously remembering architect Laurie Baker, who had relentlessly campaigned for building eco-friendly, low-cost houses that could withstand natural disasters in this ecologically fragile state. For a common Keralite who is still passionate about building pompous bungalows, this has been the lesson from the 2018 floods.
“Till last August I was dreaming of a superb 3,000 sq. ft. multi-storied mansion. But today, I prefer a simple and pretty ‘green’ building which can withstand all kinds of natural calamities,” said Mukundan Menon, who lives in Thiruvananthapuram city. His change of heart was despite the fact that last year’s floods had not affected him in any way.