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Hospital Preparedness in Earthquake Zones: A Must

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Ahmed Ammar
Ahmed Ammar*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurosurgery, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Member, WADEM Board of Directors and Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Editorial Board
*
ahmed@ahmedammar.com
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Extract

It is important that medical and paramedical teams responding to earthquakes and treating victims understand the following: (1) the definition of an earthquake; (2) the consequences of an earthquake; and (3) the common international terms used.

Earthquake An earthquake is the shaking or trembling of the earth, which may be natural or man-made (e.g., due to atomic explosion) in origin. An earthquake is a sudden, strong movement or slipping of the earth's crust that result in a sudden release of energy. Earthquakes occur at certain locations where the tectonic plates which form the earth's crust, coincide. Populations that live near these zones or on these plates always must be prepared for earthquakes and their consequences. The direct impacts of earthquakes may be seen in several forms, such as shaking, ground ruptures, landslides, avalanches, fires, soil liquefaction, tsunamis, and/or flooding.

Type
Relevant Comments
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 6 , December 2008 , pp. 516 - 518
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2008

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