Flood resilient housing recovery models: a theoretical case study in Maldives

Natural disasters are events that cause general and widespread destruction of the built environment and are becoming increasingly recurrent. They are a product of vulnerability and community exposure to natural hazards, generating a multitude of social, economic and cultural issues of which the loss of housing and the subsequent need for shelter is one of its major consequences. Nowadays, numerous factors contribute to increased vulnerability and exposure to natural disasters such as climate change with its impacts felt across the globe and which is currently seen as a worldwide threat to the built environment. The abandonment of disaster-affected areas can also push populations to regions where natural hazards are felt more severely. Although several actors in the post-disaster scenario provide for shelter needs and recovery programs, housing is often inadequate and unable to resist the effects of future natural hazards. Resilient housing is commonly not addressed due to the urgency in sheltering affected populations. However, by neglecting risks of exposure in construction, houses become vulnerable and are likely to be damaged or destroyed in future natural hazard events. That being said it becomes fundamental to include resilience criteria, when it comes to housing, which in turn will allow new houses to better withstand the passage of time and natural disasters, in the safest way possible. This master thesis is intended to provide guiding principles to take towards housing recovery after natural disasters, particularly in the form of flood resilient construction, considering floods are responsible for the largest number of natural disasters. To this purpose, the main structures that house affected populations were identified and analyzed in depth. After assessing the risks and damages that flood events can cause in housing, a methodology was proposed for flood resilient housing models, in which there were identified key criteria that housing should meet. The same methodology is based in the US Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements and recommendations in accordance to specific flood zones. Finally, a case study in Maldives – one of the most vulnerable countries to sea level rise resulting from climate change – has been analyzed in light of housing recovery in a post-disaster induced scenario. This analysis was carried out by using the proposed methodology with the intent of assessing the resilience of the newly built housing to floods in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Challenging climate change and migration discourse: different understandings of time-scale and temporality in the Maldives

This article draws on ongoing research in the Maldives to explore differences between elite and non-elite perceptions of climate change and migration. It argues that, in addition to variations in perceptions based on diverse knowledge, priorities and agendas, there exists a more fundamental divergence based upon different understandings of the time-scale of climate change and related ideas of urgency and crisis. Specifically, elites tend to focus on a distant future which is generally abstracted from people’s everyday lived realities, as well as utilise the language of a climate change-induced migration ‘crisis’ in their discussions about impacts in a manner not envisaged by non-elites. The article concludes that, rather than unproblematically mapping global, external facing narratives wholesale onto ordinary people’s lives and experiences, there needs to be more dialogue between elites and non-elites on climate change and migration issues. These perspectives should be integrated more effectively in the development of policy interventions designed to help people adapt to the impacts of global environmental change.

Cetacean sightings around the Republic of the Maldives, April 1998

In April 1998, as part of a project to collect biopsy samples of putative pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) in the waters around the Republic of the Maldives, Indian Ocean, incidental sightings of cetaceans encountered were recorded. Using modified line-transect methods and handheld binoculars, a total of 267 sightings of 16 species of whales and dolphins were recorded during 20 at-sea days in the northeastern part of the atoll. Significant results include the following: (1) cetaceans were abundant and species diversity was high, including nearly every pantropical species of pelagic cetacean; (2) the spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) was by far the most common species encountered (56 sightings) and also had the largest mean school size ( = 50.3 individuals); (3) blue whales were rare; only four individuals were sighted; (4) a large concentration of Bryde’s whales (28 sightings in two days) was apparently feeding in nearshore waters; (5) this paper reports the first records for the Maldives of Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) and the dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima): the latter was particularly common (17 sightings); (6) the spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) was rare and almost always associated with yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), spinner dolphin, or seabirds, as has been reported in the eastern Pacific and western Indian oceans.

Late Pleistocene sediment record of the Maldives carbonate platform

A piston core from the Maldives carbonate platform was investigated for carbonate mineralogy, grain-size distributions, calcium carbonate content and organic carbon. The sedimentary record was linked to Late Pleistocene sea-level variations, using an age model based on oxygen isotopes obtained from planktonic foramanifera, nannofossil biostratigraphy and 14C age determinations. The correlation between the sedimentary record and Late Pleistocene sea-level showed that variations in aragonite and mud during the past 150 000 years were clearly related to flooding and sea floor exposure of the main lagoons of the atolls of the Maldives carbonate platform. Platform flooding events were characterized by strongly increased deposition of aragonite and mud within the Inner Sea of the Maldives. Exposure events, in contrast, can be recognized by rapid decreases in the values of both proxy records. The results show that sediments on the Maldives carbonate platform contain a continuous record of Pleistocene sea-level variations. These sediments may, therefore, contribute to a better understanding of regional and even global sea-level changes, and yield new insights into the interplay between ocean currents and carbonate platform morphology.

The coral reefs of the Maldives / by Alexander Agassiz.

v.29 (1903) text

Maldives, 1902 (Image 1 of 3) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Trigonometrical survey of the Maldive Islands, by Commander R. Moresby, assisted by Lieut. F.T. Powell, Indian Navy ; additions and corrections by Professor A. Agassiz, Mr. Stanley Gardiner and Mr. L. A. Molony, 1902 ; eng. by J. & C. Walker. Sheet 1. It was published by Hydrographic Office, 1904. Scale [ca. 1:310,000]. This layer is image 1 of 3 total images of the three sheet source map representing the northern portion of the map. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the 'Mercator' projection. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, human settlements, ground cover, shoreline features, inlets, lagoons, shoals, sand banks, atolls, islands and islets, points, rocks, bottom types, and more. Relief shown by spot heights. Depths shown by soundings. Includes notes on navigation and locations of potable water. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection and the Harvard University Library as part of the Open Collections Program at Harvard University project: Organizing Our World: Sponsored Exploration and Scientific Discovery in the Modern Age. Maps selected for the project correspond to various expeditions and represent a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Maldives, 1902 (Image 2 of 3) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Trigonometrical survey of the Maldive Islands, by Commander R. Moresby, assisted by Lieut. F.T. Powell, Indian Navy ; additions and corrections by Professor A. Agassiz, Mr. Stanley Gardiner and Mr. L. A. Molony, 1902 ; eng. by J. & C. Walker. Sheet 2. It was published by Hydrographic Office, 1904. Scale [ca. 1:310,000]. This layer is image 2 of 3 total images of the three sheet source map representing the central portion of the map. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the 'Mercator' projection. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, human settlements, ground cover, shoreline features, inlets, lagoons, shoals, sand banks, atolls, islands and islets, points, rocks, bottom types, and more. Relief shown by spot heights. Depths shown by soundings. Includes notes on navigation and locations of potable water. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection and the Harvard University Library as part of the Open Collections Program at Harvard University project: Organizing Our World: Sponsored Exploration and Scientific Discovery in the Modern Age. Maps selected for the project correspond to various expeditions and represent a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Maldives, 1902 (Image 3 of 3) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Trigonometrical survey of the Maldive Islands, by Commander R. Moresby, assisted by Lieut. F.T. Powell, Indian Navy ; additions and corrections by Professor A. Agassiz, Mr. Stanley Gardiner and Mr. L. A. Molony, 1902 ; eng. by J. & C. Walker. Sheet 3. It was published by Hydrographic Office, 1904. Scale [ca. 1:310,000]. This layer is image 3 of 3 total images of the three sheet source map representing the southern portion of the map. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the 'Mercator' projection. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, human settlements, ground cover, shoreline features, inlets, lagoons, shoals, sand banks, atolls, islands and islets, points, rocks, bottom types, and more. Relief shown by spot heights. Depths shown by soundings. Includes notes on navigation and locations of potable water. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection and the Harvard University Library as part of the Open Collections Program at Harvard University project: Organizing Our World: Sponsored Exploration and Scientific Discovery in the Modern Age. Maps selected for the project correspond to various expeditions and represent a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Maldives, 1814 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: To capt. W.F.W. Owen R.N. this chart of the Maldiva Islands, exhibiting the safe channels between the southern attollons, having been constructed from valuable materials furnished chiefly by him, is inscribed by ... James Horsburgh ; engraved by John Bateman. It was published by James Horsburgh in 26th March, 1814. Scale [ca. 1:1,800,000]. Covers Maldives. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the World Miller Cylindrical projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, shoreline features, atolls, channels, routes of historic passages, and more. Includes text.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the cruise of the SS Amra in the Maldives

In this volume, Agassiz gives a detailed account of the results of the cruise the steamer "Amra" chartered from the British India Steam Navigation Company. The cruise covered the attols of the Maldives archipelago. The deep sea formations are described in detail.

Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine : fait par ordre de roy, depuis 1774 jusqu'en 1781. Dans lequel on traite des Moeurs, de la religion, des sciences & des arts des Indiens, des Chinois, des Pégouins & des Madégasses; suivi d'observations sur le cap de Bonne-Esperance, les isles de France & de Bourbon, les Maldives, Ceylan, Malacca, les Philippines & les Moluques, & de recherches sur l'histoire naturelle de ces pays /

La obra completa consta de 4 v.