The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and the Strategy of Medical Assistance from the Tohoku University Hospital

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The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and the Strategy of Medical Assistance from the Tohoku University Hospital

Shinichi Egawa,¹ Tadashi Ishii,² Hajime Furukawa,³ Motoo Fujita,³ Yoshiko Abe,^2,4 Aisa Sakamoto,⁴ Yohei Inaba,^5,6 Katsunori Ono,⁶ Hideo Harigae,⁷ Motohiro Tsuboi,^1,8 Shinichi Kuriyama⁹ and Hiroyuki Sasaki¹

¹International Cooperation for Disaster Medicine Lab., International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
²Department of Education and Support for Regional Medicine, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
³Division of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁴Department of Nursing, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁵Department of Radiological Technology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁶Department of Radiological Technology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁷Department of Hematology and Rheumatology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁸Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Saitama Hospital, Saitama, Saitama, Japan
⁹Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

A moment magnitude (Mw) 7.5 earthquake (the Global IDentifire (GLIDE) number: # Q-2024-000001-JPN) struck the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture on 1 January 2024 at 16:10 (Japan Standard Time). The reversed fault, 150 km in length and subducting beneath the peninsula, resulted in maximum seismic intensity 7 shaking, triggered the tsunami, destroyed over 43 thousand buildings, and disrupted roads and lifelines. The disaster claimed 236 deaths, including 15 indirect disaster deaths as of Jan. 28, 2024. There were Disaster Base Hospitals (DBHs) in the region, which survived structurally but suffered from impaired functions and the surge of medical needs of affected people. The disaster medical system of Japan immediately responded and coordinated the hundreds of emergency medical teams (EMTs), i.e., the Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), from all over the country. Tohoku University Hospital, which had the experience of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), joined the coordinated response, dispatching a chain of DMATs, which helped the medical and public health coordination in Wajima City. The medical and public health needs included injuries, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, mental health issues, and maternal and child health issues, which were similar in the affected communities in GEJE. Although the actual damage far exceeded expectations, the structural retrofitting and business continuity plans of DBHs and the coordinated response of the national disaster medical system enhanced the effectiveness of medical and public health response.

Key words —— disaster medicine; hospital business continuity; logistics; medical coordination; medical response

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 January, 262(1), 45-49.

Correspondence: Shinichi Egawa, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., International Cooperation for Disaster Medicine Lab., International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, 468-1, Aramaki-aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8572, Japan.

e-mail: egawas@surg.med.tohoku.ac.jp