HABITAT MAPPING OF CHINANGUDI A Study of Chinnangudi Village in connection with Tsunami Reconstruction Project Benny Kuriakose South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) HABITAT MAPPING OF CHINNANGUDI A Study of Chinnangudi Village in Connection with Tsunami Reconstruction Project Benny Kuriakose South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies June 2006 Habitat Mapping of Chinnangudi Village HABITAT MAPPING OF CHINNANGUDI A Study of Chinnangudi Village in Connection with Tsunami Reconstruction Project Benny Kuriakose South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies June 2006 Habitat Mapping of Chinnangudi Village HABITAT MAPPING OF CHINNANGUDI A Study of Chinnangudi Village in Connection with Tsunami Reconstruction Project June 2006 By Benny Kuriakose Published by V.Vivekanandan for South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) Karamana, Trivandrum - 695 002, Kerala, INDIA Email: [email protected], Web: http://www.siffs.org Edited by Dr. Ahana Lakshmi Cover Sketch by Pratheep Mony M.G Designed by C.R.Aravindan, SIFFS Printed at St.Joseph Press, Trivandrum South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies C O N T E N T S FOREWORD ................................................................................................................ i PREFACE ................................................................................................................ii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1 1.1 Habitat Mapping..................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Objectives of the Study............................................................................................2 1.3 Procedure of Mapping ............................................................................................3 1.4 Methodology............................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 2: CHINNANGUDI..........................................................................................5 2.1 Topography of the Land..........................................................................................6 2.2 History ................................................................................................................6 2.2.1 South Buckingham Canal.............................................................................6 2.2.2 Government Housing Scheme .....................................................................8 2.3 Architectural Aspects...............................................................................................8 2.4 Building Materials and Techniques........................................................................9 2.5 Usage of Various Indoor Spaces...........................................................................10 2.5.1 Verandah......................................................................................................10 2.5.2 Rooms .........................................................................................................10 2.5.3 Kitchen.........................................................................................................12 2.5.4 Pooja............................................................................................................12 2.5.5 Bathroom and Toilet....................................................................................12 2.5.6 Storage ........................................................................................................13 2.6 Usage of Various Outdoor Spaces........................................................................13 2.6.1Auction Centre..............................................................................................15 2.6.2Beach ...........................................................................................................15 2.6.3Vegetation.....................................................................................................15 2.6.4Streets...........................................................................................................15 2.7 Infrastructure..........................................................................................................16 2.7.1Water.............................................................................................................16 2.7.2Sanitation......................................................................................................16 2.7.3Electricity ......................................................................................................17 2.7.4Communications..........................................................................................17 2.7.5Roads ...........................................................................................................17 2.8 Social and Cultural Aspects..................................................................................17 2.8.1Family Structure ...........................................................................................17 2.8.2Traditions and Beliefs .................................................................................17 2.8.3Social Relationships ....................................................................................18 2.8.4Leisure Activities...........................................................................................18 Habitat Mapping of Chinnangudi Village 2.9 Gender and Life Style............................................................................................18 2.10 Political Aspects.....................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 3: TSUNAMI – THE AFTERMATH...........................................................21 3.1 Water Flow/Drainage Pattern................................................................................21 3.2 Analysis of Building Damage ................................................................................23 3.3 Physical Damage..................................................................................................24 3.4 Height of the Wave.................................................................................................24 3.5 Salt Crystallization..................................................................................................24 CHAPTER 4: HAZARD MAPPING...............................................................................27 4.1 Frequency-Recurrence Interval............................................................................27 4.2 Hazard Mapping Exercise.....................................................................................28 4.3 Use of Inundaton Maps.........................................................................................28 CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED .....................................................35 5.1 Distribution of Plot Areas........................................................................................35 5.2 Distribution of House Types ..................................................................................36 CHAPTER 6: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS................................................................47 6.1 Mass Contact Program.........................................................................................47 6.2 Needs and Demands of Villagers.........................................................................47 6.3 Design ..............................................................................................................48 6.3.1Storage .........................................................................................................48 6.3.2Pooja.............................................................................................................48 6.3.3Kitchen..........................................................................................................50 6.3.4Toilets...........................................................................................................50 6.3.5Position of Doors ..........................................................................................51 6.3.6Cattle and Poultry .........................................................................................51 6.4 Streets and Village Festivals .................................................................................51 6.5 Common Facilities................................................................................................52 6.5.1Common Facilities on the Beach................................................................52 6.5.2Request for a Boatyard.................................................................................53 6.5.3Requirements of the Auction Centre............................................................53 6.6 Choice of Technology and Materials....................................................................53 6.7 Quality of Construction and Good Workmanship.................................................54 6.8 High Initial Investment...........................................................................................54 6.9 Village Layout ........................................................................................................54 CHAPTER 7: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..........................................................55 South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies APPENDICES I. General Instructions for the Team - Benny Kuriakose .........................................56 II. Road Map of the Reconstruction Project - X.Joseph...........................................61 III. An Alternative Approach to Housing - Benny Kuriakose........................................63 IV. Type of Houses and the Study of Usage of Space ...............................................66 LIST OF MAPS 2.1 Political Map of Chinnangudi..................................................................................7 2.2 Network of Roads and Paths.................................................................................20 3.1 Extent of Damage..................................................................................................22 4.1 Inundation Map for 2.8 m Water Level..................................................................30 4.2 Inundation Map for 2.25 m Water Level................................................................31 4.3 Inundation Map for 1.50 m Water Level................................................................32 4.4 Inundation Map for 1 m Water Level.....................................................................33 5.1 Plot Area Comparison...........................................................................................38 5.2 Plinth Area Comparison.........................................................................................39 5.3 Plinth Area and Plot Area Comparison..................................................................40 5.4 Building Usage......................................................................................................41 5.5 House Types..........................................................................................................42 5.6 Flooring Material...................................................................................................43 5.7 Walling Material.....................................................................................................44 5.8 Roofing Material....................................................................................................45 LIST OF TABLES 2.1 Demographic Profile of Chinnangudi.....................................................................5 2.2 Details Based on Occupation...............................................................................19 3.1 Demographic Profile - After Tsunami....................................................................21 4.1 Natural Hazard Probabilities during Period of Various Lengths ...........................28 LIST OF CHARTS 2.1 Houses and Toilet .................................................................................................12 2.2 Houses and Electricity...........................................................................................17 3.1 Distribution of Extent of Damage ..........................................................................23 5.1 Distribution of Plot Area in Cents...........................................................................35 5.2 Distribution of Plinth Area in Square Feet .............................................................36 5.3 Type of Houses......................................................................................................37 5.4 Distribution of Flooring Material............................................................................37 5.5 Distribution of Walling Material.............................................................................37 5.6 Distribution of Roofing Material.............................................................................37 Habitat Mapping of Chinnangudi Village CREDITS Project Consultant Benny Kuriakose Core Team Deepa Santosh Lavanya.K Sridevi Madala Field Survey Team Anitha Mai Balaji Joseph Alwin Jyotsna Sivaguru Kala Sri Ranjani Madhavi Mugundhan Shivakumar Subhashree Data Compilation Team Anitha Mai Balaji Joseph Alwin Jyotsna Sivaguru Kala Sri Ranjani Mugundhan Narendra Bhushan Shivakumar Report Writing Joseph Alwin Kala Sri Ranjani Kanakathara Sangitaa Edited by Dr. Ahana Lakshmi Sketches Pratheep Photographs Deepa Santosh Balaji Jyotsna Sivaguru Sridevi Madala Benny Kuriakose South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies M ost bureaucrats and politicians perceive a programme of public housing as nothing more than the construction of a series of ‘boxes’, one per family. A million families are bundled into these ill fitting cells without being able to say a word about the design, and however much science is applied to the grading of families and the matching of them to their dwellings, the majority are bound to be discontented. They do not realize that providing housing involves much more than just building houses. — Hassan Fathy, ‘Architecture for the Poor’ Habitat Mapping of Chinnangudi Village FOREWORD The December 2004 tsunami caught us completely unawares. Surprisingly, for a twenty five year old coastal organisation, SIFFS had no previous disaster experience. Functioning for most of its life on the lower south west coast of India (Kerala and Kanyakumari), SIFFS was quite sheltered from natural disasters including cyclones that regularly thrash the east coast of India. Our lack of disaster expertise was soon compensated by the arrival of a number of volunteers from all over India with previous disaster experience. SIFFS became a platform that attracted committed and talented people from different parts of India, many of whom had worked together in the Gujarat earthquake. As a fishermen’s organisation anxious to ensure proper rehabilitation, we decided to take on responsibilities that were outside our core competence making use of the external expertise made available to us. SIFFS as an organisation has extensive expertise in fishing livelihoods and none whatsoever in housing. However, the support of a large number of individuals and organisations with experience in post disaster housing, gave us the confidence to get into both temporary and permanent shelter construction. This appeared to be an excellent opportunity to put into practice all that had been learnt from previous disasters and housing programmes. The very lack of previous experience became our strength. Instead of being limited by in-house expertise, as is the case with most organisations, we had the opportunity to tap the awesome talent that was outside and willing to help. The support of the architect couple Anu and Krishna, who were among our initial volunteers, helped us make a mark in the temporary shelter stage. The support of Sushma Iyengar from Kutch with links to a number of organisations with housing experience also gave us the confidence to stake a claim to building 2000 permanent houses in Nagapattinam district. However, the huge volunteer force that had come immediately after the tsunami started fading away with every one needing to catch up with their routine work. By March 2005, our housing related plans looked uncertain and we were not sure as to who would provide the leadership to the programme. It was at the stage that Benny Kuriakose arrived on the scene bursting with ideas on disaster resistant housing and his own unique analysis of what had happened to houses and settlements during the tsunami. Interestingly, Benny had started his career in Trivandrum and one of the first buildings he constructed was a SIFFS boat building centre. After spending a few years in the alternative technology centre run by the Kerala People’s Science Movement, he had moved on to Chennai and developed an independent practice that included both mainstream and alternative architecture. Whilst building houses for cinema stars, he also found time to build post disaster houses in Latur and Kutch. However, his fame today rests on the “Dakshinachitra”, a unique project on the East Coast Road showcasing the traditional architectural styles of South India. South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies