Earthquake in Northern Pakistan: Pattern of Injuries in Victims Brought to the Emergency Relief Hospital, Doraha, Mansehra

To date, the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan is the third most deadly natural disaster in the world since the 1976 earthquake in China that reportedly killed 255,000 people. 1 This issue of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine includes a report of the pattern of injuries in victims brought to the emergency relief hospital in Doraha, Mansehra. The manuscript presents a unique glimpse into the role of a relief emergency hospital and provides important information that can help plan future response for such events. Mountainous areas everywhere, are a challenge to rescue activities, especially in developing countries in which devastation was massive and resources were stressed beyond their limits. When reading this paper, it is important that the reader remembers the context in which it was written—The Emergency Relief Hospital, Doraha, Mansehra actually was a postgraduate college converted into an emergency relief hospital after the earthquake. It began functioning on the first day following the earthquake. The laboratories and lecture halls were converted into operation theatres and intensive care units. Only later, field camps were setup. This scenario is somewhat similar to the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, India, where most hospitals collapsed and military hospitals provided initial preliminary care in tents until field hospitals arrived about five days later. 2 The facility described in the manuscript authored by Fahad et al was approximately 40 km from the epicenter, and was approachable via motor vehicles and helicopters carrying the patients from the remote areas. 3 Patients also were transported by their relatives, volunteers, and Pakistan army soldiers who were helping to control the situation.The affected region was so uneven and mountainous, that many of the affected areas remained inaccessible by the rescue teams, even a week after the earthquake, and resulted in dire medical consequences. Beyond these barriers to care, many obstacles further impede the ability to conduct quality scientific research in the aftermath of a disaster. Earthquakes, possibly more than any other event, have the ability to disrupt the lives of a large population due to the physical destruction of homes, clinics, hospitals, schools, roads, water reservoirs, and more. Affected countries often lack the ability and interest in portraying these injuries as all of their resources are consumed by treating the wounded and rebuilding their communities. For this reason, there is great importance in this manuscript, despite several limitations , as a first-hand documentation of casualties arriving to receive care, Questions …