INDONESIA: Work begins on temporary housing for tsunami victims

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JAKARTA, 28 December 2010 (IRIN) - Temporary housing construction for some 11,400 people displaced [ http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91196 ] by an October 2010 tsunami on the Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia is under way, and the government is also planning to build more permanent housing. “Our first priority is to build sturdy and safe houses because these are the backbone of their lives,” said Bakrie Beck, deputy for disaster mitigation at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). On 25 October, the islands (comprising some 70 islands and islets) were struck by a 3-5m tsunami triggered by a 7.7 Richter scale earthquake off western Sumatra which destroyed 550 houses and damaged another 200, BNPB said. Medi Herlianto, BNPB deputy for reconstruction and rehabilitation, said work on hundreds of the some 1,600 temporary shelters required, had begun. The 24-square metre shelters, made of plywood and corrugated iron, are expected to house displaced people for six months. Half the shelters are being built by the Indonesian Red Cross and half by the government. Head of the Red Cross in West Sumatra Province Hidayatul Irwan said the construction of temporary houses started on 12 December (after government permission was received to use timber from local forests), and tsunami survivors are involved in the project - from processing timber to building work. "By involving the residents we hope to empower them so that they can be motivated and get back on their feet." The Red Cross was helping with the distribution of aid supplies -100,000 hoes for home-building and household items - and providing care for survivors by employing 120 people equipped with mobile clinics and trucks. However, not all survivors want to live in the temporary shelters or the planned government housing, and have opted to return to their old neighbourhoods to rebuild their damaged houses and continue their livelihoods. BNPB’s Beck said concerns about earning income have been noted and would be addressed. “Houses will be built in areas that are close to people's means of production… In communities where people produce copra [dried coconut kernels from which oil is obtained] we will open coconut plantations using modern growing methods.” Permanent houses A government assessment has estimated the total cost of building temporary shelters, permanent homes and infrastructure, as well as rebuilding lost livelihoods, at US$111 million. Early in 2011 the government plans to start building 1,600 permanent houses at 11 of the most affected sub-districts on the four main islands of North Pagai, Pagai Selatan (South Pagai), South Sipora and Sikakap, BNPB officials said. The 36-square metre houses will have prefabricated lightweight steel roofing and cost an estimated $10,000 each, said Bambang Sulistianto, BNPB director for recovery and physical rehabilitation. He said light steel roofing was chosen because local forests are protected, making it difficult to get processed timber. atp/pt/cb © IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org