Fordable house for disaster victims

[Anchor]

Disaster victims who have lost their homes due to large-scale disasters often live in temporary shelters, facing discomfort both physically and mentally.

To alleviate these difficulties, a foldable assembly housing has been developed.

It is said that a house can be completed in just 90 minutes.

Reporter Kang Pu-reun has the story.

[Report]

In disaster sites like large wildfires, temporary shelters are set up, but they are often in poor condition.

[Kwon Oh-pil/Andong, Gyeongbuk/March]: "It's uncomfortable to sleep, and it's uncomfortable mentally; there's nothing good about it."

Tents are often set up in gymnasiums, making it difficult to ensure privacy and lacking insulation and heating.

[Kim Oe-seon/Uiseong County, Gyeongbuk/April]: "The hardest part is washing. There’s no place with hot water here...."

To address these challenges, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology has developed a quickly installable foldable assembly housing system.

By adding a a two-room unit to a space equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen, and a bathroom, it can accommodate two to three adults.

Assembly takes about one hour and thirty minutes.

[Oh Geun-young/Senior Researcher, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology]: "In particular, disaster victims have faced significant difficulties with water usage. We have combined detachable bathrooms and kitchens to make them usable as temporary relief housing...."

Once the operation of the shelter is complete, it can be folded down to one-third of its size for storage and can be reused.

After receiving a budget of 1.2 billion won, the development was completed after two years of research, and the estimated price per unit for mass production is around 40 million won.

It is expected to be a great help to disaster victims, but the cost remains a significant challenge to address.

This is KBS News, Kang Pu-reun.