In the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016, which damaged or destroyed over 30,000 houses and 495 schools, Fiji has sought to improve compliance with construction norms, particularly in rural and iTaukei areas. There was also a need to make good construction practices more accessible to homeowners who do not have a formal background in construction.
To this end, the government of Fiji has worked to develop a set of guidelines based on the lessons learned from Tropical Cyclone Winston to improve the resilience of single-story houses and schools against future storms and earthquakes, with support from the ACP-EU NDRR Program project “Enhancing capacity for improving design and construction of single-story houses and schools for climate and disaster risk”. The guidelines are addressed to individual homeowners and builders, as well as to community-level institutions responsible for overseeing the construction of schools. These guidelines were also promoted in a nation-wide outreach and awareness campaign by the country’s building industry.
Download the new “Guidelines for improving building safety and resilience for new single-story houses and schools in rural areas of Fiji”