This eight-sided shelter made from bamboo costs about $110 and could prove a lifeline for victims of natural disasters

• A $108 home made of bamboo could prove a lifeline for victims of natural disasters.
• The Heritage Foundation of Pakistan has developed zero-carbon, low-cost shelters made from bamboo.

Hurricane Ian recently left a trail of destruction in the US in another reminder of the damage nature can afflict on communities.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has also been hit in recent weeks by catastrophic flooding that has killed about 1,600 people, displaced tens of millions and left parts of the country under water.

After parts of Pakistan were devastated in 2015 by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that also hit neighboring Afghanistan, Yasmeen Lari, co-founder of the nonprofit Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, started experimenting with shelters requiring minimum building expertise that could be constructed from local materials, disassembled, and moved easily.

The foundation has now developed zero-carbon, low-cost shelters made from locally sourced bamboo. The shelters could prove to be a lifeline for some people forced to leave their homes by floods.

Bamboo has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel and some types of concrete, yet is also lighter, more flexible and cheaper.

The bamboo shelters can be built in a few hours, then dismantled and moved wherever they are needed. They can be constructed in a variety of ways, depending on the specific needs.

The simplest structure has four sides for a single family and costs about $10. There is also a larger eight-sided structure called "Octa-Green" that can be built for about $110. It is covered in reed matting and held together by a bamboo pole in the center.

Since Pakistan's rains began in June, more than 400 of the shelters have been constructed and there are enough bamboo panels for 800 more.

The nonprofit has also helped build more than 45,000 structures from mud and bamboo since it started focusing on this project, including large community buildings and two-storey homes.

Watch below how Pakistanis can use materials on hand to make what the foundation calls a "Karavan Eco-Toilet."