Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T17:41:41.916Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pre-Earthquake Vulnerability Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Reuben Eldar  and
Jakov Adler
Reuben Eldar
Affiliation:
Department of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Shewa, Israel
Jakov Adler
Affiliation:
Shaarey Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Health planning for disasters builds on an awareness of ways in which the disaster affects health and on anticipation of tasks to be performed by the health sector.

In view of the possibility of an earthquake of significant magnitude in Israel, and in the absence of previous earthquake experience, published data of earthquake health effects were studied, such as causes of death and injury, casualty rates and factors influencing these, distribution of injuries and their severity, effect on health care facilities and on physical, social and psychological environments. Implications of the studied data were applied to relevant conditions in Israel and to an earthquake there. A predisaster vulnerability assessment was thus obtained, pointing to the nature, size, and space and time distribution of tasks the health sector would be expected to perform should an earthquake occur in Israel.

On the basis of this assessment some recommendations for the preparation and preparedness of the health sector for such an occurrence are submitted.

Type
Research Article
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 3 , Issue 1: Contributions from the Third World Congress on Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Rome, Italy, May, 1983 , 1987 , pp. 107 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Alter, A.J.: Environmental health experiences in disasters. Am. J. Publ Health 1970; 60:475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Briton, N.R.: What have New Zealanders learnt from earthquake disasters in their own country? Disasters 1981; 5:138.Google Scholar
3.Coultrip, R.L.: Medical aspects of US disaster relief operations in Nicaragua. Mil. Med. 1974; 139:879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Andjelski, H and Sivić, A.: Le seisme de Skoplje du point de vue medicale. Rev. Int. des Services de Sante 1972; 45:403.Google Scholar
5.Glass, RI., Urrutia, JJ., Sibony, S. et al: Earthquake injuries related to housing in a Guatemalan village. Science 1977; 197:638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Greco, D, Faustini, A, Forastiere, F et al: Epidemiologic surveillance of diseases following the earthquake of 23d. November 1980 in Southern Italy. Disasters 1981; 5:398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Lechat, MF.: Disasters and public health. Bull, of WHO 1979; 57:11.Google ScholarPubMed
8.Romero, AB., Cobar, R, Western, K et al: Some epidemiologic features of disasters in Guatemala. Disasters 1978; 2:39.Google Scholar
9.Saidi, F: The 1962 earthquake in Iran. N. Eng. J. of Medicine 1963; 268:929.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Beinin, L: An examination of health data following two major earthquakes in Russia. Disasters 1981; 5:142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Goyet, De Ville de, Del Cid, E, Romero, A et al: Earthquake in Guatemala—epidemiologic evaluation of the relief effort. Bull, of PAHO 1976; 10:95.Google Scholar
12.Velimirović, B: Epidemiological overview of natural disasters in the Mediterranean Area—past history and future prospects. WHO Reg. Off. for Europe, Copenhagen, 1981 (ICP/ERO 001).Google Scholar
13.McDonald, RK.: The February 1976 earthquake in Guatemala. Paper at the Int. Seminar on “Emergency Care in Natural Disasters”, Manila 1978.Google Scholar
14.Whittaker, R, Fareed, D, Green, P et al: Earthquake disaster in Nicaragua. J. Trauma 1974; 14:37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Ron, D, Michaelson, M, Bursztein, S et al: Prevention of acute renal failure in traumatic rhabdomyolysis. Arch. Int. Med. (accepted for publication 1984).Google Scholar
16.Alexander, D: Disease epidemiology and earthquake disaster. Soc. Sci. and Med. 1982; 16:1959.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Braverman, S and Jenks, N: California quake. Am. J. Nursing 1971; 71:708.Google Scholar
18.Downing, SW.: Hospital design—a blueprint for safety. World Hospitals 1980; 16:23.Google Scholar
19.Hill, RW. and Barnecut, RJ.: Earthquake resistant hospitals—some cost considerations. Hospitals 1977; 51:119.Google ScholarPubMed
20.Wilson, MR.: Effect of the Alaska earthquake on function of Public Health Services hospital (Anchorage). Publ. Hlth. Reports 1964; 79:853.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Rennie, D: After the earthquake. Lancet 1970; 2:704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Spencer, HC., Campbell, CC., Romero, A et al: Disease surveillance and decision making after the 1976 Guatemala earthquake. Lancet 1977; 2:181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Richter, ED. and Tulchinsky, T: Epidemic suppression packages in disasters—a public health viewpoint. Public Health 1979; 93:204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Popović, M. and Petrović, D.: After the earthquake. Lancet 1964; 2:1169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Trichopoulos, D, Katsouyani, K, Zavitzanos, X et al: Psychological stress and fatal heart attack: the Athens (1981) earthquake natural experiment. Lancet 1983; 1:441.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.Solomons, NW. and Butte, N: A view of the medical and nutritional consequences of the earthquake in Guatemala. Publ. Hlth. Reports 1978; 93:161.Google ScholarPubMed
27. Disaster Preparedness in the Americas: Use of field hospitals following disasters (Issue 7. 1981).Google Scholar
28.Rozen, A: Degree of destruction due to earthquake. Israeli Civil Defense Publication, 1981.Google Scholar
29.Eldar, R: A multihospital system for disaster situations. Disasters 1981; 5:112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed