Operational Health Pavilions in Mass Disasters: Lessons Learned from the 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Abstract

The massive earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February 2023 killed tens of thousands of people, and most of the deceased have not yet been identified. Many victims were pulled from the rubble hours or days later, injured and in need of assistance, treatment, and food, and many have not yet been connected with their families. Armed forces, volunteers, technicians, and health workers must cooperate in synergy in these situations to ensure effective interventions and to improve resilience. Based on the lessons learned from the response efforts to this recent natural catastrophe, this brief report proposes, for the first time, an organisational model structured around five functional pavilions that can be safely set up at the edge of a disaster area. Each pavilion should run its own activities to make a vital contribution to the overall coordinated emergency response. Looking to the future, it is extremely important to apply a technical approach that leads to maximum operational synergy at a disaster site and during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency.

Reliability of a forensic odontology method for age-at-death estimation in adults: A Mexican case study

“…Mass disasters are situations in which a multitude of victims need to be identified, and X-ray imaging is often a vital tool for victim identification. It is important to establish a team to carry out external examinations and autopsies, as well as instrumental examinations (especially dental) aimed at finding specific signs of identity; these teams also use radiographic examination tools to estimate sex and age [ 30 ].…”

Environmental Health Risks After the 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake and Salient Mitigating Strategies: A Critical Appraisal

“… 1 , 32 , 33 The seismic event’s deleterious impact resulted in a substantial accumulation of debris, ruins, and potentially harmful substances, thereby presenting notable ecological and societal health hazards. 25 , 34 , 35 In order to tackle this challenge, the governments of Turkey and Syria engaged in collaboration with international organizations to develop comprehensive strategies for managing debris. The initial phase encompassed the comprehensive evaluation of the impacted regions in order to ascertain the areas with utmost urgency necessitating prompt elimination of debris.…”