1.5. Community and Housing Dynamics

The first challenge in that time of research we are talking about 2005-2006 where the Google Earth was just in the beginning stages and I was not getting any Maps, so I have to digitize these maps whatever the Google Earth have to give me and some physical observations.

In 2005-2006, the author faced significant challenges while researching disaster recovery after the tsunami. At that time, Google Earth was not fully developed, which made it difficult to obtain accurate maps of the affected areas. To address this, the author had to manually digitize maps based on what Google Earth did provide and combined that with physical observations made during fieldwork.

Imagine trying to navigate a new city without any maps or your smartphone. You’d have to rely on old paper maps or ask locals for directions. This was similar to the author's situation, where he had to creatively piece together information to understand the areas impacted by the tsunami.

88 houses were damaged during this Tsunami and immediately the government have done the assessment of these 88 houses. And they decided to find alternative position for them because of the CRZ regulations so they have took some land in the DC Nagar phase and SISU Nagar and they have identified this is a government land and have given about 88 houses.

After the tsunami, 88 houses were reported damaged. The government conducted an assessment to determine how to best support the displaced families. Due to Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulations, the government had to find new plots of land to relocate these families safely. They identified government land in specific areas (DC Nagar and SISU Nagar) and allocated new houses for the affected families.

Consider a situation where a neighborhood is damaged by a flood. The local government might step in to assess the damage and provide people with new homes in a safer part of town. This is akin to what happened with the tsunami's aftermath, where immediate assessments led to the relocation of families.

Earlier, it was only a four hundred households village after the tsunami they taken the opportunity to make a spacious village and in the process of making a spacious village 400 have become thousand houses so which means joint families have broken into the nuclear family setups.

Before the tsunami, the village comprised about 400 households, primarily organized in joint family systems. However, after the disaster, in an effort to rebuild and make better use of the new land, the community transformed to accommodate around 1,000 houses. This change led to the traditional joint families splitting into smaller nuclear family units, resulting in a significant shift in community dynamics.

Think of a family living in a large house where multiple generations reside together. After a natural disaster, if that family moves to a newly built neighborhood, it might become necessary for them to divide into smaller houses, leading to only immediate family members living together. This is what happened in the village, changing the structure of community life.

When they have taken a lottery approaches no one knows who is your neighbour and where you are going. So that has actually broken certain neighbourhood you know linkages.

The new housing allocation was done through a lottery system, meaning that families did not have the opportunity to choose their neighbors or stay close to familiar faces. This randomness led to a breakdown in the traditional neighborhood links, which previously provided social support and community cohesion.

Imagine moving to a new school where you have no idea who your classmates will be. You might feel isolated at first and may not have the usual support system you had before. This is similar to what the families faced as their familiarity with neighbors was disrupted by the lottery system.

After the tsunami they have to relocate to two kilometres which is almost taking a person has to walk almost 2 kilometres.

Relocating the village resulted in families having to walk as much as 2 kilometers to access essential services like the church, markets, and fishing docks. This made daily life significantly more challenging, especially for individuals with mobility issues or those carrying heavy loads, such as fishing gear.

Think about how difficult it might be to walk long distances every day to reach your job or school, especially if you're carrying heavy bags. The fishermen in the new settlement faced similar struggles, needing to transport their catch and equipment over long distances, which made their daily operations much harder.

Earlier, husband when he goes for fishing the woman used to see the boat, oh! my husband is coming and wait for the husband with food.

In traditional family dynamics, wives would wait for their husbands to return from fishing, creating a strong bond and support on both sides. However, the relocation made it difficult for them to see each other’s return times, weakening familial connections and changing the nature of their support roles.

Consider how family members might interact when they live close together. If one family member is waiting for another to arrive home for dinner, a strong connection is maintained. But if they live far apart and lose sight of their routines, that bond can weaken. This reflects the changing dynamics in the families affected by the tsunami.

When the NGOs have started consulting what type of house do you want they said yes we want a brick and concrete house.

Initially, the community expressed a preference for modern brick and concrete homes, influenced by trends from nearby urban areas. However, as time progressed, they recognized that traditional houses provided better thermal comfort in the hot climate and adapted to their cultural practices.

Imagine asking a group of people what type of home they want. They might suggest modern options because they seem trendy, but when they realize their comfort needs, they may revert to traditional styles that suit their lifestyle better. This reflects the community's journey through consultation and understanding of their needs after the tsunami.

--