Analysis of Disaster-Related Deaths in the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Retrospective Observational Study Using Data from Ishinomaki City, Miyagi, Japan

Tsuboi, Motohiro; Hibiya, Manabu; Tsuboi, Rumiko; Taguchi, Shigemasa; Yasaka, Koichi; Kiyota, Kazuya; Sakisaka, Kayako

doi:10.3390/ijerph19074087

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) revealed that 3784 disaster-related deaths had occurred since September 2021. The Fukushima Prefecture was particularly affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, with over 2329 (60%) disaster-related deaths, indicating its severe impact [7]. In addition, the health effects of the FDNPP accident were multifaceted and long-term, distinct from previous disaster-related deaths [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symposium on disaster-related deaths after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

et al. 2022

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Disaster deaths can be classified into direct and indirect deaths. Direct deaths are those caused by the direct physical effects of disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and radiation exposure. Indirect deaths are those caused by secondary health effects such as emergency evacuation, relocation, evacuation environment, disruption of health care delivery services, and psychosocial effects. In addition, in Japan, the term disaster-related deaths refers to indirect deaths in accordance with the disaster condolence payments system, which provides relief for bereaved families. On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) exposed several issues related to disaster-related deaths in Japan. Therefore, on February 1, 2022, a symposium on disaster-related deaths hosted by this study was held on the website. The symposium discussed the issues and challenges associated with disaster-related deaths for future disaster preparedness. The authors introduced the concept of "shaking" at the symposium by defining "shaking" as "the repeated changes in the social and living environment that worsen health conditions, regardless of the disaster." It was also pointed out that vulnerable populations are more likely to experience more pronounced health effects. This generalized concept of "shaking" associated with disaster-related deaths suggests that it is important to anticipate disasters before they occur to take specific preventive measures, targeted at vulnerable populations. This study found that disaster-related deaths in Japan create several problems in terms of future radiation disaster preparedness and medical countermeasures. In the future, there will be a need to examine the relevance of the issues of disaster-related deaths identified as a result of this symposium for future radiation disaster preparedness.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symposium on disaster-related deaths after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

et al. 2022

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“…It has been pointed out that the poor environment of evacuation shelters causes health problems and disaster-related deaths among evacuees, and we are concerned that their environment will deteriorate, particularly during a large-scale disaster such as a Nankai Trough earthquake due to a shortage of daily necessities ( Ichiseki, 2013 ; Tsuboi et al, 2022 ). According to the third edition of the Nankai Trough Earthquake Countermeasures Plan, approximately 4.4–9.5 million people are expected to be evacuated 1 week after an earthquake, which is 20 times the number of evacuees in the Great East Japan Earthquake ( Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the third edition of the Nankai Trough Earthquake Countermeasures Plan, approximately 4.4–9.5 million people are expected to be evacuated 1 week after an earthquake, which is 20 times the number of evacuees in the Great East Japan Earthquake ( Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, 2013 ). Physical and mental fatigue caused by living in evacuation shelters accounted for 33% of disaster-related deaths in the Great East Japan Earthquake, and it has been reported that 20% of evacuees complained of back pain ( Ichiseki, 2013 ; Tsuboi et al, 2022 ). Japanese evacuees were used to sleeping directly on the floors of school classrooms or gymnasiums, but cardboard beds have been installed since the Great East Japan Earthquake ( Nara et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of body pressure distribution in healthy subjects between bubble wrap and an emergency mattress laid on a cardboard bed: a randomized controlled crossover trial

Hamanishi¹,

Asada²,

Ikushima³

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Background It has been pointed out that the poor environment of evacuation shelters causes health problems and disaster-related deaths among evacuees, and we are concerned that their environment will deteriorate, particularly during a large-scale disaster due to a shortage of daily necessities. In Japan, evacuees usually slept on floors with futons until the Great East Japan Earthquake, but cardboard beds were installed in evacuation shelters. Previous studies have suggested that cardboard beds can reduce cold air transmission from the floor. We have reported that a cardboard bed can have a low-contact pressure dispersion capacity and cannot reduce musculoskeletal strain, unlike a futon or mattress. In the Great East Japan Earthquake, 33% of disaster-related deaths were reported to have been caused by physical or mental fatigue due to living in evacuation shelters. When a large-scale disaster such as the Nankai Trough Earthquake generates huge numbers of evacuees, the supply of mattresses for evacuees will be very difficult. Therefore, we considered potential alternatives that could be produced in large quantities over a short period. Bubble wrap, with very lightweight and waterproofing, could be a good candidate for mattress replacement. This study aimed to investigate the improvement in body pressure distribution and pressure-sensing area when using bubble wrap. Methods Twenty-seven healthy subjects allocated to sequences A and B with different intervention order were laid in supine and lateral positions on a cardboard bed without a mattress, bubble wrap, or air mattress: the mattress-body contact pressure and contour areas were measured, and subjective firmness and comfort during these conditions were also investigated using the visual analog scale (VAS). Acquired data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model and Bonferroni’s post-hoc test, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The mattress-body contact pressure and contour area showed significant differences with and without air mattresses. With the air mattresses, the pressure in the supine position decreased by 34%, and that in the lateral position decreased by 13%. However, the four-fold bubble wrap did not improve the mattress-body contact pressure and contour area; the change ratios were within 5% compared to the cardboard bed. However, there were significant differences in subjective firmness and comfort using the VAS among all experimental positions. Conclusion Our study showed that bubble wrap could not significantly improve body pressure concentration and may not be a satisfactory substitute for air mattresses. Because of the improvement in subjective firmness and comfort with the bubble wrap, using it for an extended period may affect the incidence of back pain in evacuees. Finally, we hypothesize that the body pressure dispersion of the bubble wrap may be improved by changing the air-filling rate and the size of the air bubbles.

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“…2 Also, in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, there were reports of problems in the medical system, such as delays in medical intervention due to a lack of information and indirect disaster-related deaths due to the poor evacuation environment. [3][4][5] Focusing on specific disasters, during the 2007 Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake, a small amount of radioactive material was detected leaking from a nearby nuclear power plant. At that time, there was no impact on the public or the environment, but there was also a case where insufficient radiation information was provided to the Japan Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT), and there was a problem with dispatching to the site due to anxiety.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Automatic Chronological Record Creation System Using Voice AI to Facilitate Information Aggregation and Sharing in the Event of a Disaster

Tsujiguchi,

Imai,

Kimura

et al. 2023

Disaster med. public health prep.

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Objective: In the event of a disaster, the chain of command and communication of each relevant agency is important. In this study, a chronological record creation system using voice AI (V-CRS) was developed, and an experiment was conducted to determine whether the obtained information could be quickly and easily summarized in chronological order. Methods: After a lecture by Japanese Disaster Medical Assistant (DMAT) Team members and 8 medical clerks on how to use the developed tool, a comparison experiment was conducted between manual input and V-CRS utilization of the time to compile disaster information. Results: Results proved that V-CRS can collect information gathered at headquarters more quickly than handwriting. It was also suggested that even medical clerks who have never been trained to record information during disasters could record information at the same speed as trained DMAT personnel. Conclusion: V-CRS can transcribe audio information even in situations where technical terms and physical units must be recorded, such as radiation disasters. It has been proven that anyone can quickly organize information using this method, to some extent.

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Analysis of Disaster-Related Deaths in the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Retrospective Observational Study Using Data from Ishinomaki City, Miyagi, Japan

Cited by 12 publications

References 21 publications

Symposium on disaster-related deaths after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Symposium on disaster-related deaths after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Comparison of body pressure distribution in healthy subjects between bubble wrap and an emergency mattress laid on a cardboard bed: a randomized controlled crossover trial

Development of an Automatic Chronological Record Creation System Using Voice AI to Facilitate Information Aggregation and Sharing in the Event of a Disaster

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