Pre-disaster Planning for Post-disaster Recovery:
Recommended Activities
The following action lists are drawn from the Antigua and Barbuda and St.
Kitts and Nevis Post-Georges Disaster Mitigation Housing Sector Reconstruction
Plans.
Action list A: Consensus on construction material standards
- Clarify the role of the Bureau of Standards.
- Conduct an analysis of materials demand and timing over previous hurricane
events. Assemble data on problem areas and materials.
- Set up committee with public- and private-sector professionals, hardware
suppliers, contractors, and Bureau of Standards and Customs personnel to
agree on materials standards.
- Train Customs officials in identification of building materials and their
specifications.
- Promulgate a materials list with minimum specifications.
- Identify sources of supply and contingency supply plans. Communicate
minimum specification and likely quantities to traditional donors and
suppliers. Seek agreements for private-sector storage and supply of
emergency materials. Investigate regional supply agreements.
- Prepare material and labour cost information flyer in lay terms for
general distribution.
These actions will require local organisation work to ensure the development
of consensus and the drafting of standards.
Action list B: Household preparation
- Run workshops for householders on disaster resistant design, siting and
safe building practices.
- Run workshops on essential details for householders.
- Create good practice training videos for householders and builders.
These actions would require various workshops, preferably with a local
training institution so that they are run as pilots of an institutionalized set
that can be repeated at regular intervals. Training materials would be required,
and the videos would be part of these tools. Private-sector buy-in would be
desirable, particularly as there are already firms contributing in this area
(e.g. Antigua Masonry Products). The national disaster organisations might be able to
take on the running of these workshops if they assisted in the development of
them with others to train where necessary.
Action list C: Construction sector preparation
- Make available and promote the adopted national building codes.
- Promote good design through hardware stores and contractors.
- Promulgate a list of trained contractors, builders and supervisors for
use after a storm.
- Set up training courses for Part-time Builders, Part-time Building
Supervisors, and refresher courses for Builders using technical vocational
training system.
- Formalize and standardize national vocational standards.
For the building codes, public- and private-sector engineers must be involved.
The training action items will require teaching materials and curriculum
development and could entail cooperation with others to upgrade existing
vocational training.
Action list D: Policy development
- Formulate policy or regulations on lease land to enable proper
attachment of small houses to foundations.
- Make clear decisions on vulnerable sites and communicate the information
widely.
- Maintain enforcement of siting and zoning laws.
- Ensure all ministries and government organisations use the existing
building standards.