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Seismic Resistant Housing: PAKISTAN

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On the morning of October 8, 2005 the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Pakistani administered state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in Northern Pakistan were devastated by a tremendous earthquake.  Over 73,000 people perished and an estimated 3.3 million were left homeless in Pakistan alone.  Even though the region is prone to earthquakes and seismic activity, the houses built and rebuilt after these events invariably contain no seismic mitigation techniques.

Article 25 were approached by the international NGO, Muslim Aid, to develop building designs and lead workshops that would enable local people to take part in the rebuilding projects by illustrating how they can rebuild safely using a small amount of aid and their reclaimed building materials.

[ project location ]

Bagh, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Jareed, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan.

[ project partner ]

Muslim Aid - a UK-based international relief and development organization, working in partnership with local community-based groups.

[ building cost ]

Rs290,000 per house

[ project type ]

Article 25 was appointed to assist with the design and construction of seismic resistant houses in the earthquake affected zones in Pakistan. Recipients are the most vulnerable in the community who cannot self-build.  Training workshops were also delivered to the community.   

[ problem addressed ]

The earthquake in Pakistan on October 8th 2005 measured 7.6 on the Richter Scale.  Over 70,000 people died as a result of the earthquake.  Many of these deaths were caused, not by the earthquake directly, but by buildings collapsing so quickly that people were not able to escape in time.  Article 25 have designed and facilitated the build of over 80 seismic resistant houses in the areas devastated by the earthquake in 2005.