Medical disaster preparedness (MDP) of Rotterdam-Europort has been estimated by grading personnel, materials, and methods utilized in the chain of medical care, from the disaster site to the hospital. On a scale from 1 to 5, this MDP was set at 2.8: the disaster site is the weakest link, which determines the strength of the whole chain. This, in turn, was the result mainly of the methods utilized for which the personnel were not properly educated and trained.
By applying the methodology as described in an earlier paper, the MDP of cities, airports, harbors, industrial plants, etc. can be determined in a standardized way. This methodology should facilitate epidemiologic research in the public health aspects of disaster preparedness.
