Short-term responses to Earthquake

Handling the status of the affected area.
1. After affected areas are declared as "emergency zones', a specialised authority is assigned to provide immediate aid to people and restore emergency services to the affected areas.
  1. Basic humanitarian needs of the affected people are taken care of. They are provided with food, water and shelter.
    1. In turkey, the Crisis Management Center led by the Ministry of Interior mobilised and coordinated relief effectively withing the first few hours of the earthquake in Afyon, Turkey, in 2002.
  2. Some countries are not experienced in handling the aftermath of an earthquake.
    1. For example, the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 was its first major one since 1860. The emergency relief lacked coordination and proper supervision. This made it difficult to provide aid to the affected population.
Searching for and rescuing casualties
1. People trapped under collapsed buildings are quickly located and freed.
  1. Some survivors are found after being trapped for a couple of weeks without food.
    1. For example, after the earthquake in Tohoku, Japan, in 2011, sniffer dogs and heat sensors were deployed and successfully rescued many who were trapped.
  2. Rescue workers only have a limited time of 72 hours, or three days, to find trapped survivors. Without food and water, trapped people are unlikely to survive after three days.
    1. For example, rescue workers had a limited time of three days to rapidly search through two towns after search through two towns after the earthquake in Tohoku in 2011.
Providing medical aid, food and water.
1. The injured are treated and clean drinking water is provided to survivors to prevent dehydration and the spread of diseases.
  1. The provision of immediate aid helps survivors continue with their lives.
    1. For example, after the earthquake in Afyon in 2002, the Turkish Red Crescent Society immediately responded by delivering 20,000 tents, 50,000 blankets and 3,000 heaters to the region.
  2. Medical supplies, food and water may not be sufficient and this may cause social unrest.
    1. For example. after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, looting and fighting broke out as people fought for food and medical supplies.
Setting up emergency shelters.
1. Tent cities are set up as temporary housing for those who have lost their homes in the earthquake.
  1. Temporary shelter provide a place for survivors to carry on with their lives.
    1. For example, tents accommodated thousands of homeless people after the major earthquake in Afyon, Turkey,, in 2002. They also helped re-establish a sense of community among surviviors.
  2. The living conditions in tent cities may be poor and lead to people dying.
    1. For example, the outbreak of the water-borne disease, cholera, killed almost 4,000 people in the tent cities of Haiti.
Calling for humanitarian aid.
1. Foreign and local Governments may offer money, medical or food aid to an affected area.
  1. Affected areas can be rebuilt with the aid provided.
    1. For example, two months after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, governments around the world donated US$2.5 billion and pledged another US$1.3 billion.
  2. Aid may be delivered later than hoped for or may not always be delivered. Problems such as the looting of trucks may also arise while aid is being delivered.
    1. For example, after the earthquake in Turkey in 2011, trucks delivering aid were looted before they reached the disaster area.

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Short-term responses to Earthquake

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	Created by Lukas Lie over 9 years ago