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Emergency Medicine Association of Turkey Disaster Committee Summary of Field Observations of February 6th Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2023

Sarper Yılmaz*
Affiliation:
University of Health Sciences, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Kartal Dr. Lutfi Kirdar City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Onur Karakayali
Affiliation:
Sakarya University Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya Training and Research Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey
Serkan Yilmaz
Affiliation:
Kocaeli University, Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Kocaeli, Turkey
Murat Çetin
Affiliation:
Izmir Dr. Behçet Uz Child Disease and Pediatric Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Türkiye
Serkan Emre Eroglu
Affiliation:
University of Health Sciences, Umraniye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Ozgur Dikme
Affiliation:
University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Ayhan Özhasenekler
Affiliation:
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara City Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Murat Orak
Affiliation:
Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Emergency Department, Diyarbakır, Turkey
Özcan Yavaşi
Affiliation:
Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Faculty of Medicine, Rize Research and Training Hospital, Rize, Turkey
Funda Karbek Akarca
Affiliation:
Ege University, School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine Department, İzmir, Turkey
Müge Günalp Eneyli
Affiliation:
Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Bülent Erbil
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Haldun Akoğlu
Affiliation:
Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
*
Correspondence: Sarper Yılmaz, MD Department of Emergency Medicine University of Health Sciences Kartal Dr. Lutfi Kirdar City Hospital Kartal, Istanbul, Turkey E-mail: sarperyilmaz08@gmail.com

Abstract

An earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale occurred at 04:17am on February 6, 2023 in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş province Turkey. In the hours following the 7.7 magnitude event in Kahramanmaraş, a second 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the region and a third 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep, causing extensive damage and death. A total of ten provinces directly experienced the earthquake, including Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, and Kilis. The official figures indicate 31,643 people were killed, 80,278 were injured, and 6,444 buildings were destroyed within seven days of the earthquakes (as of 12:00pm/noon on Monday, February 13th). The area affected by the earthquake has been officially declared to be 500km in diameter. This report primarily relies on observations made by pioneer Emergency Physicians (EPs) who went to the disaster areas shortly after the first earthquake (in the early stages of the disaster). According to their observations: (1) Due to winter conditions, there were transportation problems and a shortage of personnel reaching disaster areas on the first day after the disaster; (2) On the second day of the disaster, health equipment was in short supply; (3) As of the third day, health workers were unprepared in terms of knowledge and experience for the disaster; and (4) The subsequent deployment of health personnel to the disaster area was uncoordinated and unplanned on the following days, which resulted in the health personnel working there not being able to meet even their basic needs (such as food, heating, and shelter). During the first week, coordination was most frequently reported as the most significant problem.

Type
Field Report
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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