chapter 4 - DRK

Strictly under embargo until Wednesday 22 September at 00:01 GMT (02:01 Geneva time)The official statistics on disaster impacts suggest that the damage to, or destructionof, housing (and other assets) is far more serious in high-income nations. But this ismisleading in that damage to or destruction of housing is usually far more seriousin low- and middle-income nations in terms of the number of households affectedand how much they are affected. This does not translate into a large monetary lossbecause most of the homes destroyed or damaged were not worth much in monetaryterms or their monetary value is simply ignored because they are informal dwellings.This is so even though the house is not only the most valuable asset for thoseaffected but also their home, and they receive little or no compensation when it isdamaged or destroyed. Of course, they also have no insurance so they do not figurein any calculation of insurance payments. This is how disasters create or greatlyexacerbate poverty.Each year, millions of households have their homes damaged or destroyed by disasters.For instance, in 2007 there were extensive floods throughout South and South-EastAsia and in many nations in West and East Africa, while Hurricane Felix triggeredfloods in Nicaragua. This pattern was repeated in 2008, from the hurricane season inthe Caribbean, to cyclones in Myanmar and Bangladesh and the devastating Sichuanearthquake in China. In 2009, millions were affected by the earthquake in Sumatra,Indonesia, and the floods in India and the Philippines.Greater consideration is needed of the role that housing plays in urban areas for lowincomegroups such as the hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers rendered homelessby the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The value and importance of housing tosuch groups far exceeds its monetary value. What seems to outsiders to be no morethan a shack built mostly of temporary materials is actually the home with all its keyattributes for family and social life, privacy and safety, and is the primary defence forthose living there against most environmental health risks. It may also be the placeof work for some household members and is often the household’s most treasuredasset. As family members build or improve their home, they increase the value oftheir asset and its capacity to protect them from hazards. It is also the means by whichthey get access to income and services – and in urban areas, its location in relation toincome-earning opportunities and services is often more important for low-incomehouseholds than its size, quality or legality. This explains why such a high proportionof informal settlements are on flood plains or steep slopes at risk of landslides, becausethese are the only land sites within a city close to centres of employment that lowincomegroups can occupy.Urban areas present two very specific challenges for housing. The first is that in lowandmiddle-income nations, land prices for housing are usually much higher thanin rural areas. There are also often far more official rules and regulations governingthe acquisition and use of land for housing, which usually restricts land available and22CHAPTER 1Housing and urban disasters