Mr. Mukherjee explained: “A truly disaster resilient home needs the following: it needs to robust enough to float above the flood water, providing safety. It needs to generate enough food with proper nutritional balance. It needs access to water, electricity and all other basic amenities.

“The outside walls of the house can be used for vertical gardens, we can harvest rainwater for self-sufficiency in drinking water, we can utilise renewable energy solutions for electricity, and further utilise modern technologies like aquaponics and poultry rearing for livelihood and waste recycling.”

The award was presented by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, who said: “This week at the sixth Global Platform we have heard time and again about the benefit of investing before a disaster strikes, rather than responding to its effects. This is a great example of the kind of investment that the world needs.”

On behalf of the Munich Re Foundation, chairman Thomas Loster, congratulated the winner and noted that “Around 40% of the world’s population live in coastal areas less than 100 kms from the sea. There are lots of challenges including rising sea levels, heavy rainfall, intense storms so the RISK Award is very pleased to encourage innovations such as these floating homes which can be replicated in many parts of the world.”

Date:

17 May 2019

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Regions:

Africa, Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania