Local Government Engineering Department Housing Program In Hazard Affected Areas Of Bangladesh

The floods of 1987-88 and the cyclone of 1991 hammered the backbone of our national economy as well as our development. The 1988 flood alone destroyed about 1.25 million houses and twice as many were partially damaged. The 1991 cyclone destroyed a further 1.63 million homes. As a result, the government started the project "Reconstruction of Rural Housing in flood affected areas of Bangladesh" in 1988. The ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives started the project in collaboration with UNDP and UNCHR and expanded it after the 1991 cyclone. The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is now continuing the Program with a light to provide better housing in natural disaster areas by constructing houses with improved and durable building materials. The LGED has developed its own model house for the future housing Program. That model is now being constructed experimentally by implementing NGOs and CBOs. It is clear that the impacts of natural hazards can be reduced to a considerable extent by providing better housing.