Introduction: In the event of a disaster, an airport serves two essential roles, as the central hub for incoming supplies such as food and medication and provide a lifeline to the affected communities, and as a coordination and information center to register, brief, and task for the incoming humanitarian organizations and rescue teams. What happens if the disaster itself impacts the airport? This paper describes the conditions at Palu airport during an earthquake and the state one year after. Method: This is a qualitative study, utilizing information gathered from interviews, articles in newspapers, and reports from official websites. Findings from the official websites were confirmed with findings from newspapers or other printed media and were also confirmed with the results of the observations and interviews. The interviews were conducted with several key informants at the airport. Data were then analyzed verbatim and written in a narrative description. Result and Discussion: Many factors contributed to the chaos at Palu Airport. The earthquake's impact was significant enough for a small airport such as Palu Airport. There was no clear incident command system and coordination between institutions within the airport and the city. There was a lack of disaster readiness planning and regular training before the earthquake. The first initial training in 2009 was not followed up. Conclusion The 2018-earthquake in Palu was a big disaster that impacted the airport. Lack of capacity was related to the discontinuity of the 2009 training into a continuous disaster management program. The unclear management system inside the airport and the local authority worsened the impact of the disaster on both the airport and the community.
Natural Disasters

Background: Due to the devolved nature of Philippine local governance, disaster management systems such as relief work and food aid pipelines, have been managed by local government units during natural disasters. Objectives: This study assessed the nutrient adequacy of food aid packs provided during natural disasters in the province of Albay. Specific objectives included assessment of the types of food and food sources, as well as the practices in the food aid pipeline, and assessment of the nutritional quality of food aid packs through comparison with the recommended energy/nutrient intake (REI/RNI) for Filipinos Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted to gather information on food sources and pipelines. Information on the quantities of food components in food aid packs distributed was also collected, and the free iFRNI software used to derive nutrient content. These quantities compared with the REI/RNI for the general population. Descriptive statistics on Microsoft Excel were used to calculate the mean, median and mode for macronutrients as well as Vitamin A and iron to determine the overall intake of individuals relying on these foods. Ethical clearance was secured from the University of the Philippines REB. Results: Analysis of the food components showed that the food aid packs were insufficient to meet the REI/RNI for the general population, particularly for food packs distributed on the barangay and city/municipal levels. Food was sourced from local suppliers as an emergency purchase during the forecast of a disaster, in place of the prescribed practice of stockpiling. Procured food would then be repacked and distributed on the provincial, city/municipal and barangay levels in a staggered schedule depending upon the length of the disaster or evacuation. Conclusion The food packs distributed by the barangay and city/municipal sub-units of the provincial government of Albay are insufficient to meet the daily caloric and micronutrient needs of a general population purely reliant on food aid after a natural disaster.
Natural Disasters Diet ; Vegetarian

Military and civilian health joining is an objective indispensability. In 1996, the Ministry of Health decided to establish the Professional Advisory Council for Disaster Medicine and Burn. Out of 30 members of the Council, 14 are military health professionals. Between 1997 - 1999, the Health Services of provinces and cities combined with the health systems of military regions and services to implement training courses and maneuvers in natural disaster control so that can take the initiative of preventing and minimize the outcome of natural disasters.
Natural Disasters ; Delivery of Health Care ; Military Personnel

The disaster medicine is a new profession of the modern medicine. The major features of the disaster medicine are prompt and urgent and timely respond to sudden events with a large amount of patient in the short-time and imbalance between the requirements and ability of respond. The health sector's responsibilities in the disaster comprised the evaluation of field, organization of health network, salvage, first examination and classification, evaluation of lesion, transfer the patients to nearest health facilities, epidemic prevention and control and strengthen of the local health network for resolving the disaster's outcome.
Medicine ; Natural Disasters ; Delivery of Health Care

Objectives: The goal of the research was to provide local data on the varieties of posttraumatic symptomatology among survivors of Super typhoon Haiyan in a rural community in Merida, Leyte. Methodology: This is a single point non-invasive study of Filipino survivors of typhoon Yolanda who came from Merida, Leyte, involving administration of a symptom checklist i.e. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist- Civilian version (PCL-C) to assess the occurrence of posttraumatic symptoms in the selected group of volunteers with no history of psychiatric illness. The PCL-C was given as part of a community screening for symptoms of PTSD conducted three months after the typhoon. There were two ways of scoring the PTSD Checklist- Civilian version (PCL-C) - either by computing for the total severity score or by scoring each response category just like one would in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV TR) criteria. The sum of all PCL-C item scores indicated the severity of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A score of 30 and above represented the occurrence of PTSD. T-test was used to determine differences in the severity scores of those who met the criteria for PTSD using the total "severity scoring method" and those who did not. Results: A total of 29 respondents took part in the study where the majority were female (28/29 or 96.55%). The results showed that Filipinos suffered more re-experiencing symptoms but less avoidance symptoms compared to the DSM IV-TR criteria. Nine of 29 (31.03%) respondents were assessed as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) based on the total "severity score method': However, none fulfilled the PTSD DSM IV TR criteria when the response "category scoring method" was used. Those who met the severity criteria had significantly higher scores in items 1 (Repeated, disturbing memories, thoughts, or images of a stressful experience from the past?), 3 (Suddenly acting or feeling as if a stressful experience were happening again?), 5 (Having physical reactions when something reminded you of a stressful experience from the past?), 6 (Avoid thinking about or talking about a stressful experience from the past or avoid having feelings related to it?) and 13 (Trouble falling or staying asleep?). Conclusion There seems to be a difference in how the Filipinos experience trauma compared to Western models such as described in the Diagnostic Symptom Manual (DSM IV TR) criteria though caution is warranted in interpreting the results due to the small sample size and the predominance of female respondents.
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Natural Disasters ; Cyclonic Storms

Blue digit syndrome, peripheral atheroembolism, and atheromatous embolization, all refer to microembolization and occlusion of the smaller distal arteries. Despite the longstanding recognition that atheroemboli arise from severely degenerative atherosclerotic plaques in the proximal circulation, many questions remain about the pathophysiology and natural history of this disorder. The threat to the survival of a single digit may not appear to be of great consequence, but repeated episodes of atheroembolism with continued destruction of the collateral circulation may portend disaster for the digit. Diagnostic efforts should be promptly concentrated on the location, stabilization and preferably, eradication of the embolic source. We report 2 cases of blue digit syndrome were managed by endarterectomy and intra-arterial stenting. Case 1: A 61-year-old man was presented with the blue toe syndrome at the third, fourth, fifth toes. The bilateral pedal pulses were normally palpable and ankle-brachial pressure indices (ABI) were within normal range. At the findings of duplex ultrasonography and CT angiography, right common femoral artery showed a focal eccentric stenosis with mural thrombus. The right common femoral artery endarterectomy was performed for the athersclerotic ulcerating plaque. Case 2: A 64-year-old man was presented with 11-month history of his left leg pain and 1-week history of his left third, fourth fingers. He had a history of flap operation for his left fourth finger tip due to necrosis. At the findings of angiography, multiple stenosis of left common iliac and left subclavian arteries were found. The lesion of left subclavian artery lesion was presumed to be the source of blue finger syndrome and treated with intra-arterial stent placement after balloon angioplasty.
Angiography ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Arteries ; Blue Toe Syndrome ; Collateral Circulation ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Disasters ; Embolism, Cholesterol ; Endarterectomy* ; Femoral Artery ; Fingers ; Humans ; Leg ; Middle Aged ; Natural History ; Necrosis ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Reference Values ; Stents* ; Subclavian Artery ; Thrombosis ; Toes ; Ulcer ; Ultrasonography

Climate changes, particularly global warming, are attributable to human activities, mainly fossil fuel burning which releases greenhouse gases such as CO2. The emissions of CO2 continue to rise, and climate models project 1.1degrees C to 6.4degrees C rise of average surface temperature over the 21st century. Health effects from global warming range from increased mortality by extreme weather, floods, and storms to increase of diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and diarrhea. Korea is not immune to health impacts from global warming. Data on daily temperature of Seoul in 1994 showed a clear association with daily mortality. Rise of sea and surface temperatures also indicates possibility of increase in infectious diseases in Korea. Concentrations of ambient pollutants, particularly ozone, were shown to be associated with surface temperature. Therefore, we are already in the influence of climate change. Adaptation strategy to climate changes is basically a matter of public health. Well-prepared programs for responding to climate changes will minimize health risks. The most effective responses are strengthening of the key functions of environmental management, surveillance, and response to natural disasters and changes of disease patterns associated with global warming. We need to intensify our efforts in preventive public health, and ensure sustainable development and protection of ecosystem for human health.
Burns ; Climate ; Climate Change ; Communicable Diseases ; Dengue ; Diarrhea ; Dietary Sucrose ; Disasters ; Ecosystem ; Floods ; Fossil Fuels ; Gases ; Global Warming ; Human Activities ; Humans ; Korea ; Malaria ; Natural Resources ; Ozone ; Public Health ; Weather

On 26 December 2004, a huge tsunami struck the coasts of South Asian countries and it resulted in 29,729 deaths and 16,665 injuries in Sri Lanka. This study characterizes the epidemiology, clinical data and time course of the medical problems seen by a Korean disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) during its deployment in Sri Lanka, from 2 to 8 January 2005. The team consisting of 20 surgical and medical personnel began to provide care 7 days after tsunami in the southern part of Sri Lanka, the Matara and Hambantota districts. During this period, a total of 2,807 patients visited our field clinics with 3,186 chief complaints. Using the triage and refer system, we performed 3,231 clinical examinations and made 3,259 diagnoses. The majority of victims had medical problems (82.4%) rather than injuries (17.6%), and most conditions (92.1%) were mild enough to be discharged after simple management. There were also substantial needs of surgical managements even in the second week following the tsunami. Our study also suggests that effective triage system, self-sufficient preparedness, and close collaboration with local authorities may be the critical points for the foreign DMAT activity.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Asia, Southeastern ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Emergency Medical Services/organization & administration/statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Geography ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; International Cooperation ; Korea ; Male ; *Medical Assistance ; Middle Aged ; *Natural Disasters ; Patients/classification/*statistics & numerical data ; *Relief Work ; Retrospective Studies ; Sri Lanka