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2 results

  • 16 - Urban Transformation as a Resilience Strategy: Earthquake Preparedness in Istanbul

  • from Part III - Law’s Role in Promoting Hazard Mitigation: Intergovernmental, International, National, and Local Approaches
  • Edited by Susan S. Kuo, John Travis Marshall, Ryan Rowberry
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law and Policy
    Published online:
    27 October 2022
    Print publication:
    29 September 2022, pp 270-282

  • Summary

    As defined by the World Health Organization, a disaster is “an occurrence disrupting the normal conditions of existence and causing a level of suffering that exceeds the capacity of adjustment of the affected community.” Whether caused by natural sources or man-made reasons, a disaster defines a chaotic process in the social, economic, physical, and environmental systems that are integrated into the lives of people. In order to alleviate or prevent the effects of disasters, mitigation strategies are developed and implemented in the form of policies, guidelines, and planning initiatives. Within these initiatives, cities and their built environment get specific attention as they define concentrated locations and a high density of people, social, and economic activity. After the 1999 Marmara Earthquake, the government of Turkey has passed urban transformation laws and implemented disaster mitigation strategies to take a proactive stance in dealing with the adverse effects of possible high magnitude earthquakes on cities. Urban transformation, in the sense of disaster mitigation, has been about upgrading of the built environment and infrastructure as well as creating open spaces. In this respect, urban transformation efforts in Istanbul, as a city of 17 million residents and being located on a highly risky seismic zone, becomes an interesting case study. This chapter will examine urban transformation efforts in Istanbul during the last decade as a form of disaster mitigation strategy and will offer a critical review of earthquake preparedness through the planning initiatives and shaping of the built environment.

  • Hospital Disaster Preparedness in Osaka, Japan

  • Tatsuro Kai, Takashi Ukai, Muneo Ohta, Ernesto Pretto
  • Journal:
    Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 9 / Issue 1 / March 1994
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    28 June 2012, pp. 29-34
    Print publication:
    March 1994
  • Purpose:

    To investigate the adequacy of hospital disaster preparedness in the Osaka, Japan area.

    Methods:

    Questionnaires were constructed to elicit information from hospital administrators, pharmacists, and safety personnel about self-sufficiency in electrical, gas, water, food, and medical supplies in the event of a disaster. Questionnaires were mailed to 553 hospitals.

    Results:

    A total of 265 were completed and returned (Recovery rate; 48%). Of the respondents, 16% of hospitals that returned the completed surveys had an external disaster plan, 93% did not have back-up plans to accept casualties during a disaster if all beds were occupied, 8% had drugs and 6% had medical supplies stockpiled for disasters. In 78% of hospitals, independent electric power generating plants had been installed. However, despite a high proportion of power-plant equipment available, 57% of hospitals responding estimated that emergency power generation would not exceed six hours due to a shortage of reserve fuel. Of the hospitals responding, 71% had reserve water supply, 15% of hospitals responding had stockpiles of food for emergency use, and 83% reported that it would be impossible to provide meals for patients and staff with no main gas supply.

    Conclusions:

    No hospitals fulfilled the criteria for adequate disaster preparedness based on the categories queried. Areas of greatest concern requiring improvement were: 1) lack of an external disaster plan; and 2) self-sufficiency in back-up energy, water, and food supply. It is recommended that hospitals in Japan be required to develop plans for emergency operations in case of an external disaster. This should be linked with hospital accreditation as is done for internal disaster plans.