Browsing by Author "Elkharboutly M"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Cyclone resistant housing in Fiji: The forgotten features of traditional housing
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2022-11-01) Elkharboutly M; Wilkinson S
    Fiji housing stock suffers extensive damage during the annual cyclone season, leading to high costs in repairing and reconstructing the damaged properties. Historically Fijian houses were resilient, and the communities could self-recover from natural hazards. The country's more recent disasters have been beyond the country's ability to self-recover. Reasons for this include reliance on international aid, new housing types and materials, population changes and the loss of traditional building methods. Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016 led to over 30,000 damaged houses, and many villages were totally destroyed. Navala was one of the damaged villages in the inner west, where most of its houses were constructed mainly as traditional houses. In this village, fifty percent of houses survived the cyclone. This study investigates Navala traditional houses, their constructability, and the apparent ability of its houses to resist cyclone hazards. The study's main findings show that traditional knowledge of building traditional houses still exists. Also, traditional houses, especially those with central posts, performed well during the cyclone and complied with the internationally recommended cyclone-resistant structural features. The study analysed the construction of traditional houses and highlighted the unique cyclone-resistant features that could be recommended for regional implementation in future constructed houses.
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    Identifying major challenges in managing post-disaster reconstruction projects: A critical analysis
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-04-23) Puri A; Elkharboutly M; Ali NA
    This paper seeks to identify and categorise challenges encountered in managing post-disaster reconstruction projects. Literature relevant to the topic was identified using keywords from two databases—Scopus and Web of Science, and then filtered using title screening and abstract screening. Subsequently, an analysis of 66 relevant papers between 2000 and 2023 revealed a total of 223 challenges relating to post-disaster reconstruction. These were then categorised into nine groups—quality and workmanship; contractual, legislation and policy; management and collaboration; resources; community engagement and culture; financial; physical/territorial; natural causes; and other challenges. Among these nine categories, resource challenges; management and collaboration challenges; and contractual, legislation, and policy challenges emerged as notably prevalent issues. While acknowledging the unique contextual nuances of post-disaster scenarios, it is important to emphasise that the challenges identified here are general in nature, serving as a foundational resource for government and various implementing agencies to devise context-specific mitigation measures. Additionally, the research findings offer insights and directions for future research aimed at enhancing post-disaster reconstruction management, particularly in addressing gaps in reconstruction legislation, policies, and processes, as well as the lesser-explored domain of non-residential reconstruction projects. Given the increasing incidence of post-disaster projects failing to achieve their objectives, understanding and effectively addressing these possible challenges is paramount. Hence, this paper provides a comprehensive foundation for developing tailored mitigation strategies and refining management practices in post-disaster reconstruction endeavors.
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    Learning from Floods—How a Community Develops Future Resilience
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-10-01) Auliagisni W; Wilkinson S; Elkharboutly M
    Settlements close to rivers, the sea, and hills are among those most vulnerable to floods. The hilly terrain region experiences higher rainfall than the lowlands due to the orographic effect. As a result, excessive rains feeding major rivers cause a rapid rise in water level resulting in frequent breaks of the riverbanks. The flood hence covers the inhabited lowlands with water and silt, causing loss of lives and properties. The affected communities need practical coping alternatives to deal with the intensity and the increasing exposure to floods. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6) identify the sustainable management of water and sanitation as one of their key objectives. This study identifies resilience in practice focusing on how communities create resilience and develop sustainable river catchment management. A qualitative method was used, involving observations, interviews, and community surveys with one of the most flood-prone populations, the New Zealand Northland community. A desktop study containing government publications and flood records compliments the thematic analysis result and strengthens the discussions. Social connections, participation in self-protection training, and maintaining the catchment were among the main findings of the study. This study recommends for community-led response plans integrated with infrastructure improvements and collaboration with councils to reduce the risk of future floods.
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    Using community-based flood maps to explain flood hazards in Northland, New Zealand
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2022-04-01) Auliagisni W; Wilkinson S; Elkharboutly M
    Floods are among the most common and destructive natural disasters in New Zealand, and climate change is anticipated to make them even more frequent and severe. A clear and comprehensive flood map is critical to communicating flood hazard to communities at risk. Mitigation, adapting, and informed decisions making could be efficiently accomplished with the clear flood maps. However, existing flood maps appear to have been developed for professionals, complex, and not easily available for communities living in flood hazard areas. This study examines how, using flood maps, risk communication between local authorities and the communities can be improved. Observational surveys and in-depth interviews were used to acquire descriptive information and in-depth understanding of risks within the communities in the Northland, New Zealand. Thematic analysis of the findings revealed that the current flood maps are not easy to acquire and hard to comprehend. Without knowledge, communities develop a false sense of security, especially where there is inadequate risk communication and engagement with local authorities. This study highlights the need for a greater understanding of integrating community knowledge and experience with the current risk communication plans. Additionally, this study recommends developing more comprehensive and user-friendly flood maps using community-based information.