Casualty estimation due to earthquakes: Injury structure and dynamics

Abstract

The chapter describes the Russian experience in earthquake casualty estimation and organisation of medical support to the population in a stricken area. Based on empirical impact data caused by the 1948 Ashkhabad, 1967 Tashkent, 1988 Spitak, 1995 Neftegorsk earthquakes and others, a procedure was developed to assess the number of fatalities and injuries of different levels for three types of settlements. The procedure is able to take into account the dynamics of casualties through time and to identify different types of injuries. Examples of casualty estimations caused by scenario earthquakes in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city are given, and organisational issues dealing with medical support and mass medical evacuation of the affected population within relief operations are considered.