Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Milan, İtalya, 30 Haziran - 05 Temmuz 2024, cilt.1, sa.3, ss.1-12
The reconnaissance team consisting of Japanese and Turkish researchers conducted an on-site survey on the hospitals affected by the 2023 Kahramanmaras Earthquakes Sequences, as a part of the Architectural Institute of Japan delegation. The primary objective of the survey was to evaluate the functional impact of the earthquake sequences on regional hospital services. In such a sense, the team contacted the hospitals serving as key facilities in the affected regions for conducting facility damage screening and a meeting with administrators.
In Kahramanmaras province, the team surveyed the city hospital network with two sites in the city area and one outside the city near the first earthquake epicenter. In addition, one evacuated private hospital located at a relatively soft soil site in the city area was visited to evaluate the influence of the geotechnical condition. In Hatay province, one university hospital outside the city of Antakya, one state hospital in the city of Erzin, and one base-isolated city hospital in Dortyol. The university hospital was the only one providing service in the city area. It was severely strained due to the shortage of resources with the overwhelming number of out-patients but continued service for two weeks. The hospitals in Erzin and Dortyol accepted patients from other cities.
In most hospitals, stockpiling, disaster preparedness manuals, and drills had been appropriately updated, partially due to the experience of the recent earthquakes in Turkey. However, absurdly many out-patients rushed into the seemingly safe hospitals far exceeded the hospital surge capacity and immediate bed availability. Hospitals in good condition or less-affected sites, even increased functionality with voluntary staff. Damage to unreinforced masonry walls, weak ceilings, and structural joints, and the unknown status of structural condition reduced the surge capacity of the affected hospitals and forced temporary evacuation. Pioneering ID access to medical records and training for regional cooperation existed but did not function as expected due to the loss of the internet environment and the casualty of a leading local government official. In areas where there were many victims and neighboring hospitals were closed, the supply-demand balance of medical care collapsed. Change in disaster response mode appeared due to damage exceeding expectations and damage to own facilities.