Building new homes for tsunami survivors
| The British Red Cross has built thousands of homes for survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia and the Maldives.
In Indonesia, our tsunami recovery programmewhere has now finished and 2,200 earthquake-resistant houses have been built. | | |  | |
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People were offered a choice of three house types; a traditional timber frame, a concrete frame with concrete block walls and a composite concrete block and timber frame. In areas prone to seasonal flooding the housing designs were modified to include concrete stilts to raise the house above flood water levels. Most people chose the concrete block house.
In the Maldives we have built 216 houses and are continuing to work with communities to complete a further 250 homes, complete with power and sewerage system. We are also building a secondary school.
We took a holistic approach to rebuilding homes, including undertaking risk reduction activities like planning emergency evacuation routes and providing training in the principles of safe construction, and helping survivors get land titles.
These are some of the people who have received a new house. | |
 | | | When the giant waves hit Pulo Breuh island off the northern tip of Aceh province, Zainal was working on a boat near the beach, and survived by swimming in the water for half an hour.
Read Zainal's story | |
 | | | When the Boxing Day tsunami swept away her family’s house on the island of Pulo Breuh, Mulinda was seven months pregnant.
Read Mulinda's story | |
 | | | Ahumad Ali (49) and his family are among 44 families that have moved into their new homes in Fonadhoo, the Maldives. He said: “If there is another tsunami I am sure there will not be any damage to the structure.”
Read Ahumad’s story | |
 | | | Ida Sabri, who moved into one of the houses in Indonesia with her husband Abdullah and son Fadri (11) in June 2007, said: "This is like a medicine for us."
Read Ida's story | |
 | | | We have trained volunteers in the Maldives in domestic skills for their new homes, such as rewiring electric power points and fixing hinges.
Read about household technology training | |
 | | | We have completed two community rainwater projects in the Maldives, which have developed water storage capacity to meet daily needs.
Read about rainwater harvesting | |
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