To ‘float’ or ‘not’: Cases of amphibious housing and their impacts on vulnerable communities of Jamaica

Abstract

Jamaica is ranked twentieth in the 2016 World Risk Report as a country exposed to multiple hazards. Among these, tropical storms, hurricanes and floods hit Jamaica most frequently. Recent studies associate the higher frequency of storms and flooding in Jamaica with impacts of climate change. Four types of flooding affect Jamaica: flash floods, riverine floods, tidal floods and ponding. During flood, common options are either to build walls to keep the water out, build elevated houses or evacuate. None of these is a sustainable permanent solution. Affordable amphibious housing is a proactive solution that enables people to remain in their communities of origin with a safe and healthy living environment during flood events. An amphibious house is one option that sits on the ground for majority of the time, with the capacity to float on the floodwater, and then returning to its exact original position when the flood recedes. After the severe flood of 2009 in Jamaica, CARIBSAVE, a non-governmental organization (NGO), undertook the amphibious housing project in selected local communities of Jamaica so that people do not need to evacuate. Through structured and critical analysis of selected case study communities of Jamaica, this chapter tests a measurement matrix to evaluate impacts of the project on the communities. Preliminary findings show that amphibious housing is effective and considerably less expensive than the other options.