Some Aspects Towards Development Of Hazard Resistant Rural Homes In Bangladesh

Natural disasters, particularly extreme winds and floods, have been causing huge loss of lives and properties every year in Bangladesh. Most of the Bangladeshi population lives in rural areas where the construction of residential houses follow a traditional way in which houses are mainly constructed with thatches, bamboo, etc. , with untreated earth base having minimum or no foundation. During floods, rural houses go underwater causing severe damage to their bases. During wind events, the frames of the rural poor houses undergo partial or total collapse as they have little or no lateral load resistance. This paper proposes some treatments and techniques for the improvement of rural house bases and shows the vulnerability of rural houses to failure due to cyclic moderate wind loading.