Handbook on Good Building Design and Construction: Aceh and Nias Islands

Published by the UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok and The Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction available at TAO Resource Center or download at UNISDR

This handbook is a simple guide on proper design and construction of houses that provides basic but important information on how to make a disaster resilient house. The best thing about this handbook is that photos were given as examples of good and bad building design and construction methods. All the photographs that were used for this handbook were taken during the reconstruction of Aceh and Nias Islands. These islands were greatly devastated by the great tsunami and earthquake of December 2006.

The content of the handbook can easily be understood by home owners, designers, and builders. It is divided into two parts namely, the design principles and construction and materials principles. This handbook is short and contains more photos than text so readers will not get bored reading it. It even has a house building checklist that the readers can use to assess their house. Over-all, this handbook is very useful to people with no technical background but would like to know more about good building design and construction which they can apply at their own houses.

Compiled by Angel Sales

Year 2007 was a time of extremes for meteorologists. Several extreme weather events occurred in various parts of the world. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the global land surface temperatures for January and April in 2007 were the hottest since recording began in 1880. An increase of up to more than 1 degree Celsius was recorded last year. From heat waves to flooding, here are some of the extreme weather events:

Wettest summer in Britain causes massive flooding
Month occurred: May to July
Damage assessment: 3 billion pounds worth of damages
50,000 people without power supply
140,000 homes without potable drinking water
Extreme condition: More than 200 percent increase in the average recorded rainfall in some areas of Britain
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