ID :
176335
Tue, 04/19/2011 - 08:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/176335
The shortlink copeid
TOKYO REPORT: Battle against Postquake Deaths Continue
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--Programs are under way to prevent indirect casualties from last month's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, such as those resulting from disease and fatigue caused by posttraumatic stress disorder, bereavement over the death of family members and stressful conditions in evacuation centers.
While the experiences of past disasters such as the 1995 Kobe earthquake are useful, the March 11 quake is so much wider in scale that providing necessary support for victims is proving more difficult.
According to the National Police Agency, the 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami, as well as three large aftershocks between April 7 and 12, left 13,333 people dead and 15,150 unaccounted for as of last Wednesday.
About 140,000 survivors were living in some 2,300 shelters in 18 prefectures, including the three badly hit northeastern prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima, over a month after the twin disasters.
The death toll from the 1995 quake, which hit the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, was 6,434, including over 900 people who survived the temblor but died of pneumonia, cardiac arrest and other diseases while living in shelters.
Research found that pneumonia accounted for a quarter of all indirect deaths. Oral health, such as cleaning false teeth, among evacuees is important, says an official at the local health department of the Kobe city office in Hyogo Prefecture.
In 2004, the earthquake that shook the Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, left 68 people dead. However, so-called economy class syndrome was blamed for a large portion of the death toll, as people suffered blood clots as a result of staying in vehicles for long periods to avoid overcrowded shelters.
Learning from those and other past lessons, efforts by doctors, nurses and volunteer workers to prevent indirect casualties from the March 11 disaster are under way.
Among them is mental care, which has become extremely important for victims. A telephone center, set up by the Japanese Association for Metal Health and other organizations, is flooded with inquiries from parents wondering how to deal with shocked children and people concerned about their futures and other issues.
Mental care needs are so widespread that local care systems cannot cope, warns the National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry.
Along with an understanding of the anxiety and suffering of victims, and support to help them, programs to prevent stress-related disorders from lingering are important to avoid indirect deaths, experts say.
In particular, keen attention should be paid to the weak in a disaster, such as elderly and handicapped, because sudden changes in living environments and stressful shelter life can worsen existing conditions, such as dementia.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is thus making arrangements to send teams of doctors, nurses and other metal-care experts at the request of disaster-hit areas.
The ministry has asked those involved in mental care to continue their activities on a long-term basis, an official said.
While the experiences of past disasters such as the 1995 Kobe earthquake are useful, the March 11 quake is so much wider in scale that providing necessary support for victims is proving more difficult.
According to the National Police Agency, the 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami, as well as three large aftershocks between April 7 and 12, left 13,333 people dead and 15,150 unaccounted for as of last Wednesday.
About 140,000 survivors were living in some 2,300 shelters in 18 prefectures, including the three badly hit northeastern prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima, over a month after the twin disasters.
The death toll from the 1995 quake, which hit the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, was 6,434, including over 900 people who survived the temblor but died of pneumonia, cardiac arrest and other diseases while living in shelters.
Research found that pneumonia accounted for a quarter of all indirect deaths. Oral health, such as cleaning false teeth, among evacuees is important, says an official at the local health department of the Kobe city office in Hyogo Prefecture.
In 2004, the earthquake that shook the Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, left 68 people dead. However, so-called economy class syndrome was blamed for a large portion of the death toll, as people suffered blood clots as a result of staying in vehicles for long periods to avoid overcrowded shelters.
Learning from those and other past lessons, efforts by doctors, nurses and volunteer workers to prevent indirect casualties from the March 11 disaster are under way.
Among them is mental care, which has become extremely important for victims. A telephone center, set up by the Japanese Association for Metal Health and other organizations, is flooded with inquiries from parents wondering how to deal with shocked children and people concerned about their futures and other issues.
Mental care needs are so widespread that local care systems cannot cope, warns the National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry.
Along with an understanding of the anxiety and suffering of victims, and support to help them, programs to prevent stress-related disorders from lingering are important to avoid indirect deaths, experts say.
In particular, keen attention should be paid to the weak in a disaster, such as elderly and handicapped, because sudden changes in living environments and stressful shelter life can worsen existing conditions, such as dementia.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is thus making arrangements to send teams of doctors, nurses and other metal-care experts at the request of disaster-hit areas.
The ministry has asked those involved in mental care to continue their activities on a long-term basis, an official said.
