Analysis of Housing Reconstruction from Residents’ Perspectives after the 2014-Flood in Kuala Krai, Kelantan

Abstract

Post-disaster housing reconstruction (PDHR) is considered the most critical assistance after emergency aid, such as food, clothes, and temporary shelter, particularly in underprivileged areas where disaster victims depend primarily on external assistance to restore their basic needs. PDHR provides opportunities to rebuild the affected community into a better condition for continuous recovery and development. Nevertheless, various studies also highlighted numerous problems within PDHR that resulted from neglecting the community's needs and viewpoints before and after the project completion. This paper examined the housing reconstruction in the aftermath of the 2014-flood in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. It was publicized that the disaster victims had received their new houses within six months to 2 years after the disaster. However, the long-term impacts of these housings on the affected villagers remain unknown. It is essential to acquire the strengths and weaknesses of the housing project so that the future PDHR project can learn from it and be built better. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the reconstructed house design from the residents' perspectives and examine their living traditions in response to their housing needs. This research focused on Kampung Manek Urai in Kuala Krai by adopting a case study approach, where 36 respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and visual research. The analysis discovered that residents were generally delighted with the house assistance but were dissatisfied with the housing attributes. The findings revealed that the housing actors disregarded certain local traditions and housing necessities during the design stage of the houses. The housing configurations profoundly caused difficulty in their traditional way of life, forcing them to modify the house according to their tradition with the already-limited financial resources. This study established the importance of evaluating post-disaster housing outcomes as they offer opportunities to facilitate better pre-construction planning and post-disaster recovery in Malaysia.