Version 1
: Received: 29 January 2024 / Approved: 29 January 2024 / Online: 29 January 2024 (14:14:40 CET)
Version 2
: Received: 22 March 2024 / Approved: 22 March 2024 / Online: 22 March 2024 (17:10:44 CET)
How to cite:
Itatani, T.; Kojima, M.; Tanaka, J.; Horike, R. Field Report of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—Current Status and Challenges of Evacuation Centers in Wajima City. Preprints2024, 2024012042. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2042.v2
Itatani, T.; Kojima, M.; Tanaka, J.; Horike, R. Field Report of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—Current Status and Challenges of Evacuation Centers in Wajima City. Preprints 2024, 2024012042. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2042.v2
Itatani, T.; Kojima, M.; Tanaka, J.; Horike, R. Field Report of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—Current Status and Challenges of Evacuation Centers in Wajima City. Preprints2024, 2024012042. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2042.v2
APA Style
Itatani, T., Kojima, M., Tanaka, J., & Horike, R. (2024). Field Report of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—Current Status and Challenges of Evacuation Centers in Wajima City. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2042.v2
Chicago/Turabian Style
Itatani, T., Junichi Tanaka and Ryo Horike. 2024 "Field Report of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—Current Status and Challenges of Evacuation Centers in Wajima City" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2042.v2
Abstract
On January 1, 2024, a large earthquake occurred in Japan’s Noto region. Many buildings collapsed as a result of violent shaking. Electricity and water supplies were cut off and communications were disrupted. Immediately after the earthquake, we visited Noto and conducted disaster-relief activities. This report integrates and discusses the results of the site visits, information broadcasts by public institutions, and previous research. Evacuation centers lacked water and proper sanitation, leading to health issues, including infectious diseases. Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) were delayed in implementing infection control measures. Isolated evacuation centers faced communication and supply challenges. Infrastructure restoration, power supply, and toilet facilities at evacuation centers were delayed because of geographical challenges. There was a lack of intervention by medical professionals in evacuation centers because the DMATs were forced to invest manpower in rescue operations. It is important to have a team that can determine and carry out the necessary activities on site, even without instructions from the DMAT. It is believed to be effective to decide in advance how volunteer teams and the private sector will conduct their activities, assuming that they will be unable to contact public institutions during a disaster. In large-scale disasters, evacuees must operate evacuation centers autonomously. To achieve this, it is necessary for residents to form healthy communities regularly. A serious disaster is expected to soon occur in Japan. We hope that the experience of this disaster will be useful for preparing for future disasters.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
