3. Kerala Flood Resilience in Design

And also, you know, don’t have too many offsets you know here, this is like too many, so symmetrical but still it’s too many offsets in it but then either try to make more of a defined shape because that is where you can even have a diagonal bracings, you can have some kind of support system so, it will; it is at least bound to a; this plan should be square or rectangular, if it is rectangular then you need to have a kind of intermediate support systems into it.

In this part, we discuss how building shapes can influence structural stability. Buildings with many offsets or irregular shapes are often less stable during disasters like floods. A more symmetrical and defined shape, such as square or rectangular, can better withstand stress. Additionally, diagonal bracings and support systems can further enhance the structure's strength, especially if it's rectangular and requires extra support.

Imagine a toy block tower. If you stack blocks only in one direction with no support, it can easily fall over. However, if you create a square base and support it from the sides, like adding diagonal beams, it becomes much sturdier.

Now, asymmetric buildings with empty pockets are more vulnerable to damage because don’t leave these empty pockets, we tried to fill that and that is where these are more stable you know, the symmetric buildings are more stable and also when we say about the row house planning; the row house planning also creates wind tunnel effects because the moment your house is one step to another, next to the shore and then it channels the wind and that is where it can damage the edges of the walls or the corners.

Asymmetric buildings—those with uneven shapes or 'empty pockets'—are at greater risk of damage during floods or storms. Filling in these empty spaces can enhance stability. Additionally, row house designs are prone to creating 'wind tunnel effects,' which can increase wind pressure on walls, making them more likely to experience damage.

Think of a row of dominos set up one after another. When one domino falls, it creates a chain reaction that can topple the others. Similarly, if one house in a row experiences wind pressure, it can lead to damage along the entire row of houses.

So, that is where you can even you know, now even the zigzag planning avoid wind tunnel effect right, so how actually, you can actually see about, how you can actually, give a little bit of vastness and then reduce it so, the zigzag pattern as well can have some control, it depends on how you are actually orienting it and similarly, the long phase of the building facing the wind direction.

Zigzag building designs are suggested to mitigate wind tunnel effects by breaking the direct channeling of wind. Orientation is crucial, as buildings should avoid having their longer sides facing directly into oncoming winds, which can concentrate wind forces on vulnerable parts of a building.

Picture a windbreaker jacket designed with zigzag patterns. These patterns help deflect the wind instead of letting it hit directly against a flat surface. Just like that, zigzag building designs help redirect the wind and reduce damage.

In terms of quality control, it is also talks about the material, what are the ratios we have to include. So, when we say about do not use cement and sand to be less than 1.6 okay, 1:6, so for 1 cement and 6 part of the sand. So, you should not make use of the combination of this mortar not less than 1:6, either it is recommended to use 1 sand, 1 cement and 6 sand or 1 lime with 3 sand or 1 cement, 3 lime and 9 sand, so this is a kind of mortar mixes which normally guidelines do recommend.

Quality control in construction is vital, especially in flood-prone areas. Recommended ratios for materials like cement, sand, and lime help ensure the strength and durability of constructions. Mixing them in specified ratios (for example, 1 part cement to 6 parts sand) is crucial to achieve the stability and resilience needed for buildings to withstand flood conditions.

Think about baking a cake. If you don’t follow the recipe accurately, your cake might not rise or could fall apart. Similarly, in construction, using the right material ratios ensures that structures remain strong and resilient, especially against floods.

So, there has been an effort by architect Benny Kuriakose after the recent Kerala floods. So, what he did was he developed a manual for retrofitting and flood resilient design for flood-affected areas in Kerala. So, the Malayalam version is already printed and the English version is on the process.

Architect Benny Kuriakose recognized the need for localized design solutions following the Kerala floods. He created a manual for retrofitting houses in flood-affected areas, ensuring that the guidance is accessible in both Malayalam and English, addressing language barriers for local builders and masons.

Imagine someone trying to assemble furniture from a complex instruction manual in a language they don’t understand. Kuriakose's work is like providing a simplified, bilingual manual that helps local builders tackle their specific challenges with floods more effectively.

He looks into the before coming into the solutions, he actually explains the situation of how the causes you know, this is a very important aspect of developing any guidance, so one has to understand the consequences of these disasters and especially, what are the causes; root causes for it.

Before proposing solutions, Kuriakose emphasizes understanding the root causes of flooding disasters. This insight is crucial for creating effective guidelines that address both the immediate and long-term challenges posed by natural disasters.

Imagine a doctor treating an illness without understanding its cause. To treat it effectively, the doctor needs to diagnose the underlying issue first. Similarly, understanding the causes of flooding helps create better prevention and mitigation strategies.

For instance, here, you have these normal setup where you have the river level and all of them have built on the top, on the mountains and then the average flood level in case, it might have reached here but then because, after the construction of dams, people started construction near the riverbeds, they change. Because they know, that the water is not coming very frequently, that is how they started coming down.

The text discusses changes in land use, particularly how constructions near riverbeds became more common after dam constructions gave people a false sense of security about flooding. This misguided development increases vulnerability to flooding.

It’s similar to someone who has been warned about the dangers of a steep cliff but then decides to build their house right at the edge because they've never seen it collapse. Just because a disaster hasn’t occurred yet doesn’t mean it won’t.

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