Title: Recommendations on the solution of accommodation problem and recovery after destructive earthquakes

Authors: Önder Halis Bettemir

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Inonu University, 44280 Malatya, Turkey; Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, PA 15213, USA

Abstract: Inexpensive, environmentally friendly and pleasing solutions for the temporary accommodation requirements of victims have to be provided after a destructive earthquake. In this study, funding options to expedite the repairment process and the consequences of minimisation of temporary housing construction are examined and a disaster management study is proposed. Temporary accommodation demand is estimated by damage assessment reports of previous earthquakes, and cost of temporary accommodation facilities is estimated by unit price indexes. Construction of temporary housing is avoided by expediting the repairment of the buildings, providing rent-aids and tent-camps. Minimisation of temporary housing reduces the recovery cost and harmful effects on the environment, and increases user satisfaction. Moreover, resources are mainly allocated for the repairment tasks to expedite the recovery process. Recommended disaster management strategy is simulated on the 2011 Erciş-Van earthquakes. The simulation revealed that the proposed method had significant savings in terms of cost, duration and environmental impact.

Keywords: disaster management; temporary housing; cost analysis; emergency planning; environmental impact; emergency accommodation; disaster recovery; earthquakes; emergency management; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2016.076616

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2016 Vol.12 No.2, pp.168 - 184

Received: 09 Apr 2015
Accepted: 05 Nov 2015
Published online: 17 May 2016 *

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