Building improvement responses to multi-hazard risk in the historic Dali Dong Village, Guizhou, China

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the local government and the people's building improvement response to multi-hazard risk and to identify the difficulties that hampering local people's response in the case of Dali Dong Village. All 300 residential buildings were investigated mainly through observation surveys and structured interviews with the owners. The conclusions are as follows.First, while the fire strategy-centered regulations for historical villages at the national and provincial levels suggest using non-combustible or fire-retardant materials when renewing wooden buildings, the method for improving the fire-resistance of existing wooden buildings remains unclear. As perceived by the villagers, two programs conducted by the local government in Dali Dong Village effectively reduced the fire risk. Second, nearly one-third of the local people have replaced the first stories of their wooden buildings with brick or concrete to reduce the fire risk. A few local people have also built single-skin brick retaining walls to protect against landslides. More than half of the households that experienced floods had elevated the foundations or stilted the buildings. Third, according to local people's perceptions, insufficient financial capacity, limited access to disaster-resistant building technology, and lack of flatland resources are the main difficulties limiting their building improvement activities.Finally, multi-hazard risk-targeted regulation, detailed technical guidelines at the local level, new material and technology development targeting historical wooden buildings, long-term technical support, and multiple channels of financial support are all strongly advocated as means to reduce disaster risk in the context of World Heritage.