Analysis of Medical Service In the 1999 Turkey Earthquake

Kim, Jae Woo; Park, Seung Hyun; Jung, Yoon Seok; Cho, Joon Pil

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The earthquake, measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, on the 7th of August 1999 in Turkey left forty thousand injured or dead and caused billions of dollars in damages. Our medical team treated 3362 patients with a total number of 3703 visits in the area of Yaloba city for 12 days from the 26th of August to the 7th of September. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed the patients'charts after the medical service.
RESULTS
we found that there were no gender differences in the patients. The average age was 35.6 years, with patients in their 30s and 40s making up 42% of the total patients. The average number of visits per day was 300, and major complaints such as headache was most common, accounting for 13.7% of the cases. Cough and sputum were the second most common, acconuting for 12.2%. back pains, skin diseases, and abdominal pains appeared frequently.
CONCLUSION
Disaster-related injuries and illnesses vary according to the type of disater and the time from the onset. Therefore, appropriate planning and medical support are required and should be improved based on experience. Korean disaster plans should also be improved.