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Brief description of the effects on health of the earthquake of 3rd March 1985 – Chile
Author(s) -
Ortíz Mario Reyes,
Roman Mario Reyes,
Latorre Alejandro Vial,
Soto Juan Zamorano
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7717.1986.tb00578.x
Subject(s) - population , environmental health , public health , shock (circulatory) , water supply , poison control , geography , business , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , injury prevention , socioeconomics , engineering , medicine , environmental engineering , economics , nursing , pathology
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. Earthquakes are periodic phenomena that test the quality of construction, as well as the capacity of the population to adapt to sharp changes in socio‐environ‐mental conditions. Experience in this regard has demonstrated the desirability of being prepared, at the institutional level and at the level of the general population, to carry out investigations and to begin measures to cope with these catastrophes, in order to reduce damage and the interruption of normal life to a minimum. In this paper some general aspects of the social and health impacts of the earthquake of 3rd March 1985 are examined. The shock affected the central area of Chile which contains 61% of the total population. The earthquake occurred at 19:50 hours on Sunday, 3rd March, and was of magnitude 7.8. Recorded personal losses included 180 dead and 2,575 injured, and around 200,000 damaged or destroyed dwellings. The destruction also affected the infrastructure of the public services, such as energy, road, telecommunications and water supply, giving rise to an emergency in the provision of assistance. Special reference is made to the effects, on the health care infrastructure, drinking water supply and, less important, on the behavior of some communicable intestinal diseases that are highly endemic in the area under study.