Supporting recovery, healing and wellbeing with Aboriginal communities of the southeast coast of Australia: a practice-based study of an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation's response to cumulative disasters.

BACKGROUND: The recent crises of bushfires, floods, and the COVID-19 pandemic on the southeast coast of Australia were unprecedented in their extent and intensity. Few studies have investigated responses to cumulative disasters in First Nations communities, despite acknowledgement that these crises disproportionately impact First Nations people. This study was conducted by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers in partnership with Waminda, South Coast Women's Health and Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO). It investigated the collective experiences of people affected by cumulative disasters to identify the practices that support healing, and recovery for Aboriginal communities. The study addresses a knowledge gap of how Waminda, designs, manages and delivers responses to address complex health and social issues in the context of cumulative disasters. METHODS: Underpinned by practice theory this study employed Indigenous-informed, narrative inquiry. Culturally-appropriate, multiple interpretive methods were used to collect data including: observations; yarns with Aboriginal community members, yarns with Waminda practitioners, management and board members; interviews-to-the-double, visual images and documentation. The data were collated and analysed using the phases of reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The paper articulates a suite of culturally safe and place-based practices that enhance social, emotional and spiritual well-being following cumulative disasters. These practice bundles include: adopting a Country-centred conception of local communities; being community-led; viewing care as a collective, relational, sociomaterial accomplishment and having fluid boundaries. These practice bundles 'hang together' through organising practices including the Waminda Model of Care, staff wellbeing framework and emergency management plan which orient action and manage risks. The paper demonstrates the need for disaster responses to be community-led and culturally situated. ACCHOs are shown to play a crucial role, and their local responses to immediate community needs are grounded in contextual knowledge and use existing resources rather than relying on mainstream system-wide interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The paper suggests crafting responses that focus on assisting communities (re)gain their sense of belonging, hope for the future, control over their lives and their capacities to care for and to be cared for by Country, are key to both enhancing healing, health and well-being and harnessing the strengths of communities.

An analytical case study of the oil well blowout at Baghjan oil field, Assam: A human and environmental perspective.

The study analyses the oil well blowout that took place at the Baghjan oil field in Assam, India, on 27 May 2020. This incident escalated into a massive fire on 9th June that lasted more than 5 months. The tragedy degraded the environment and inflicted substantial problems on the area's inhabitants. The present study employs the analytical case study approach and various data sources to unfold the disaster and its causes, impact, and response. It also examines the local inhabitants and environmental impact and tries to analyze the event comprehensively. The incident resulted from technical malfunctions and human errors, leading to the relocation of the adjacent settlement to refugee camps amidst the global COVID-19 epidemic. However, it is essential to mention that many households received adequate compensation for their damages. The incident has resulted in the contamination of the air, noise, soil, and water, causing significant damage to the fragile ecosystem and its rare species. The research employs the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index to quantify changes in vegetation cover resulting from the blowout, thus showing the extensive damage to the affected region. The incident shed light on legal and regulatory deficiencies alongside a lack of accountability and transparency within the Oil India Limited sector. Despite the numerous proposals for environmental restoration, it appears challenging to revert to the previous state swiftly. The present study reflects the collective and collaborative action to protect and preserve the environment.

Factors related to evacuation intention when a Level 4 evacuation order was issued among people with mental health illnesses using group homes in Japan: A cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to identify factors related to the intention to evacuate in a disaster following a Level 4 evacuation order among people with mental health illnesses living in group homes in Japan. The participants were people with mental health conditions living in group homes in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. We created an original self-administered questionnaire and conducted a survey among this group. Of the 625 people with mental health conditions using group homes, 152 (24.3%) responded. Of these, 110 (5.9%) who provided valid data were included in the analysis. A total of 85 (77.3%) people said that they intended to evacuate in the event of a Level 4 evacuation order. We controlled for gender, age group, type of disability, experience of participating in disaster training, fear of contracting COVID-19 during evacuation, and earthquake and flood disaster experience as confounders. After controlling for these variables, the factors associated with intention to evacuate under a Level 4 evacuation order included not having emergency food prepared (odds ratio [OR] 3.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-14.08); believing that group home users would help them during disasters (OR 3.08, 95% CI: 1.04-9.12); and planning to ask the local government for help (OR 2.84, 95% CI: 1.01-8.01). Group home managers should be aware that people who do not believe that other group home residents would help them, and those not wishing to seek help from local government, may decide not to evacuate. Longitudinal studies across diverse regions are needed to identify factors that affect evacuation intention.

Maladaptive behaviors in disasters: case study evaluation of Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake.

Maladaptive behaviors during a disaster refer to actions that do not benefit the individual or society. Quarantelli highlights several maladaptive behaviors myths associated with disasters: widespread antisocial behavior, passivity, role conflict or abandonment, and sudden widespread mental health breakdowns (1). Despite early work reporting these myths, the common perception is that maladaptive behaviors such as rioting, looting, panic, and criminal conduct are prevalent in the wake of disasters. This is despite research by de Ville de Goyet and Arnold which has called on public officials and the media to stop propagating false disaster myths (2, 3). The classic academic response has been that this is a misconception and that, in fact, such behaviors are a very small part of the overall disaster and are mostly non-existent. Misconceptions about the prevalence of maladaptive behaviors can lead to inappropriate resource allocation, such as allocating extra police officers to prevent looting when the overall crime rate for the most part, decreases during disasters (4). Furthermore, while there are several persistent maladaptive behaviors myths, this is confounded by the presence of actual negative behaviors post disaster: false damage claims, insurance fraud, illegally obtaining relief supplies, failure to provide contracted repair services, hoarding of essential items, psychological trauma (which can lead to intergenerational transmission of the disaster memory) and medications and price gouging (5).When reading lay-press articles about recent disasters, it appears that these behaviors are on the rise. This raises the question: Has there been a change in the basic human reaction to disasters and are maladaptive behaviors on the rise? This review article focuses on case studies from three natural disasters: Hurricanes Hugo and Katrina, and the Haiti Earthquake. The goal of this review article is to evaluate these three natural disasters for evidence of maladaptive behaviors.

Learning from a climate disaster: The catastrophic floods in southern Brazil.

The catastrophic floods that affected southern Brazil last May should serve as a warning to human societies that, despite the still widespread climate change skepticism or denial, mitigation and adaptation to cope with the ongoing climate crisis are urgently needed. The toll was 213 people killed or missing; 2.4 million people affected, including 600,000 displaced; and unprecedented losses in urban and rural infrastructure, including livestock. These losses could have been lower if adaptation measures had been in place, as has been repeatedly recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Having witnessed the catastrophe firsthand, here we highlight nature-based adaptation measures that could effectively provide resistance and resilience against extreme climate events.

Determinants of the desire to avoid pregnancy after the disaster of the century in Türkiye.

BACKGROUND: After natural disasters, the occurrence of mental health problems and adverse effects on reproductive health in women of reproductive age can be attributed to a multitude of factors, including the deterioration of health facilities, a shortage of qualified health professionals, a lack of socio-economic stability, and a paucity of familial and community support. METHODS: The descriptive correlational study was conducted through social networks with 405 women who had experienced the disaster of the century 8 months after (between November and December 2023) the earthquake. The snowball sampling method was used to obtain the research data. The questionnaire form, developed for the purpose of data collection, was disseminated to women who consented to participate in the study through social networks. The data were evaluated using a variety of statistical techniques, including number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and structural equation modeling. RESULTS: According to the results of linear regression analysis, these were found to be predictors of the desire to avoid pregnancy: having housing problems (ß-coefficient 0.173; p = .008), having a damaged home (ß-coefficient. 276; p = .009), sleep patterns (ß-coefficient 0.433; p = .022), eating habits (ß-coefficients 0.248, 0.044), use of psychiatric medication (ß-coefficient 0.436, p = .003), and problems related to the food and water supply (ß-coefficient 0.127, p = .003). In addition, a structural equation model (SEM) was established to examine the relationship between these variables and mental well-being and pregnancy avoidance. Only the model constructed with mental well-being demonstrated significance in the SEM analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that women's mental health is negatively affected in unpredictable emergencies such as earthquakes and that poor mental health negatively affects pregnancy planning. The findings of the study may help to guide health professionals working in the field of women's health to protect women's mental health in emergency situations, to provide counseling about pregnancy planning, and to provide social and psychological support programs.

Components and entities of post-disaster damage and loss assessment program in healthcare sector: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Disasters can cause casualties and significant financial loss. In accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, areas affected by disasters must be built back better. Accurate post-disaster damage and loss assessments are critical for the success of recovery programs. This scoping review aimed to identify the components and entities of the healthcare sector's post-disaster damage and loss assessment program. METHODS: An comprehensive search for relevant literature was performed using several databases, including the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Magiran. The search was limited to papers published between 2010 and 2022. In addition, we searched the grey literature for resources related to post-disaster damage and loss assessments. Study selection and data extraction were evaluated by a third reviewer. The main themes were determined through a consensus process and agreement among team members. RESULTS: A total of 845 papers were identified, 41 of which were included in the review. The grey literature search yielded 1015 documents, 23 of which were associated with the study's purpose. The findings were classified into five main themes, 20 subthemes, and 876 codes. The main-themes include the following: Concepts and Definitions; Post-Disaster Damage and Loss Assessment Procedures; Healthcare sector procedures; Assessments Tools, and Methods; Intra-sectoral, Inter-sectoral, and cross-cutting issues. CONCLUSIONS: The existing corpus of literature on post-disaster damage and loss assessment programs within the healthcare sector offers only limited insights into the entities and components involved. It is of great importance that stakeholders have an extensive grasp of these pivotal concepts and principles, as they are fundamental in enabling effective responses to disasters, informed decision-making, and facilitating rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Consequently, there is a considerable scope for further investigation in this area. SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: https://osf.io/nj3fk .

Frequency of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Associated Factors Among Survivors of Van Avalanche: 6-Month Follow-up Study. / Van Çig Afetinden Kurtulan Kisilerde Travma Sonrasi Stres Bozuklugu Sikligi ve Iliskili Faktörler: 6 Aylik Izlem Çalismasi.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the frequency of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to determine the risk factors, and to monitor the change of symptoms after 6 months among individuals who survived the avalanche disaster in Van. METHOD: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 35 people who were rescued from two consecutive avalanche disasters in Van 2 months and 6 months after the avalanche disaster. The socio-demographic and clinical data of the cases were evaluated. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale-Self Report version (PSS-SR) and clinical interviews were used for PTSD diagnosis. The level of trauma was assessed by using the Impact of Event Scale (IES). RESULTS: All participants were rescuers who went to the avalanche site for rescue mission. Of the cases, 16 were volunteers from the local community and 19 were professional rescuers. The frequency of PTSD was 71.4% in the early assessment, and 57.1% in the long term. Staying in avalanche for more than 30 minutes, the absence of a history of disaster exposure and being in the group of volunteers were found to increase the risk for PTSD development. CONCLUSION: There is a high risk of developing PTSD as a result of an avalanche. People who will intervene with the disasters should be educated and prepared in terms of preventing negative psychological consequences of the disaster. The relationship between the severity of trauma and PTSD was replicated in our study.

Post-disaster damage and loss assessment in the Iranian healthcare sector: a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Accurate post-disaster damage and loss assessment is critical for the success of subsequent recovery programs. A comprehensive and systematic damage and loss assessment process involves evaluating the physical damage and financial impact of an event on individuals, communities, and assets. To ensure effective recovery, the various components and entities included in the program must be developed appropriately and efficiently. This study aimed to identify the components and entities of the Iranian healthcare sector's post-disaster damage and loss assessment program. METHODS: A qualitative study employing purposive sampling and semi-structured individual interviews was conducted with 18 participants between October 2022 and July 2023, with continuing until data saturation was achieved. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and observational notes with experts, including representatives from the National Disaster Management Organization (NDMO), the Iranian Red Crescent Society, and the Disaster Risk Management Department of the Ministry of Health and Medical Sciences Universities. The interviews were conducted in the workplace of the participants. Thematic analysis, a conventional qualitative method, was employed for the analysis of the data. Following the transcription of the recorded interviews, the initial codes were extracted, reviewed for accuracy, and classified. RESULTS: The results of this study are based on the insights and experiences of a diverse group of qualified experts in their respective fields. The findings were analysed and classification into ten main themes, 29 sub-themes, and 1,058 codes. The main themes were key concepts and principles of assessment; assessment stages; health system measures in assessment; roles and responsibilities; team composition; information and communication; coordination and collaboration; data collection and analysis; assessment tools and methods; and reporting, documentation, and recommendations. CONCLUSION: An understanding of key concepts and principles enables stakeholders to respond effectively to disasters, make informed decisions, and facilitate recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Leptospirosis Outbreak in Aftermath of Hurricane Fiona - Puerto Rico, 2022.

Leptospirosis, an acute bacterial zoonotic disease, is endemic in Puerto Rico. Infection in approximately 10%-15% of patients with clinical disease progresses to severe, potentially fatal illness. Increased incidence has been associated with flooding in endemic areas around the world. In 2022, Hurricane Fiona, a Category 1 hurricane, made landfall and inundated Puerto Rico with heavy rainfall and severe flooding, increasing the risk for a leptospirosis outbreak. In response, the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) changed guidelines to make leptospirosis cases reportable within 24 hours, centralized the case investigation management system, and provided training and messaging to health care providers. To evaluate changes in risk for leptospirosis after Hurricane Fiona to that before the storm, the increase in cases was quantified, and patient characteristics and geographic distribution were compared. During the 15 weeks after Hurricane Fiona, 156 patients experienced signs and symptoms of leptospirosis and had a specimen with a positive laboratory result reported to PRDH. The mean weekly number of cases during this period was 10.4, which is 3.6 as high as the weekly number of cases during the previous 37 weeks (2.9). After Hurricane Fiona, the proportion of cases indicating exposure to potentially contaminated water increased from 11% to 35%, and the number of persons receiving testing increased; these factors likely led to the resulting overall surge in reported cases. Robust surveillance combined with outreach to health care providers after flooding events can improve leptospirosis case identification, inform clinicians considering early initiation of treatment, and guide public messaging to avoid wading, swimming, or any contact with potentially contaminated floodwaters.

Global population datasets overestimate flood exposure in Sweden.

Accurate population data is crucial for assessing exposure in disaster risk assessments. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the development of spatially gridded population datasets. Despite these datasets often using similar input data to derive population figures, notable differences arise when comparing them with direct ground-level observations. This study evaluates the precision and accuracy of flood exposure assessments using both known and generated gridded population datasets in Sweden. Specifically focusing on WorldPop and GHSPop, we compare these datasets against official national statistics at a 100 m grid cell resolution to assess their reliability in flood exposure analyses. Our objectives include quantifying the reliability of these datasets and examining the impact of data aggregation on estimated flood exposure across different administrative levels. The analysis reveals significant discrepancies in flood exposure estimates, underscoring the challenges associated with relying on generated gridded population data for precise flood risk assessments. Our findings emphasize the importance of careful dataset selection and highlight the potential for overestimation in flood risk analysis. This emphasises the critical need for validations against ground population data to ensure accurate flood risk management strategies.

The Perceptions and Experiences of Older People Living in the Aftermath of Lombok Earthquakes, Indonesia: A Qualitative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the growing knowledge of people's vulnerability following natural disasters, the perspective of older people has received limited attention. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of older people encountering the 2018 Lombok earthquakes. METHODS: This exploratory qualitative study involved 16 older people living in one of the villages most affected by the 2018 earthquakes in Lombok Island, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia. The data were collected in June 2019 using semi-structured interviews. Participants' responses were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis managed in NVivo. RESULTS: From older people's perspectives, three themes were generated: surviving the disaster, dealing with life changes and navigating through challenges and hope. Each theme comprised two categories, which reflected the journey of older people from the early to the later phase of the disaster. CONCLUSIONS: Older people experienced critical conditions and difficulties both physically and mentally. They also experienced various emotional responses before accepting living situations following a disaster. Nurses should play a role in fulfilling the physical and mental health needs of older people in post-disaster conditions. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study can inform nurses and other key stakeholders about the needs of older people during and after natural disasters. Nurses need to be equipped with the skills and abilities to identify and meet the needs of older people in difficult situations and with limited resources.

Nutritional Composition of Post-Catastrophic Foods.

In addition to current challenges in food production arising from climate change, soil salinization, drought, flooding, and human-caused disruption, abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios (ASRS), e.g., a nuclear winter, supervolcano eruption, or large asteroid or comet strike, are catastrophes that would severely disrupt the global food supply and decimate normal agricultural practices. In such global catastrophes, teragrams of particulate matter, such as aerosols of soot, dust, and sulfates, would be injected into the stratosphere and block sunlight for multiple years. The reduction of incident sunlight would cause a decrease in temperature and precipitation and major shifts to climate patterns leading to devastating reductions in agricultural production of traditional food crops. To survive a catastrophic ASRS or endure current and future disasters and famines, humans might need to rely on post-catastrophic foods, or those that could be foraged, grown, or produced under the new climate conditions to supplement reduced availability of traditional foods. These foods have sometimes been referred to as emergency, alternate, or resilient foods in the literature. While there is a growing body of work that summarizes potential post-catastrophic foods and their nutritional profiles based on existing data in the literature, this article documents a list of protocols to experimentally determine fundamental nutritional properties of post-catastrophic foods that can be used to assess the relative contributions of those foods to a balanced human diet that meets established nutritional requirements while avoiding toxic levels of nutrients. © 2024 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Total digestible glucans Basic Protocol 2: Apparent protein digestibility Basic Protocol 3: Vitamins B1, B3, B9, C, and D2 by HPLC Basic Protocol 4: Total antioxidant activity (DPPH-scavenging activity) Basic Protocol 5: Total phenolic compounds (Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method) Basic Protocol 6: Mineral content by ICP-OES.

Measuring preparedness to infectious diseases among people exposed to climate disasters in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Climate change is contributing to increase the frequency and severity of climate disasters in Mozambique, leading, since 2019, to extensive damage to infrastructure and displacement 1.3 million people. Aim of this study is to evaluate baseline preparedness to vector-borne and water-borne infections among households and internally displaced people exposed to climate disasters in Mozambique. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, community-based survey assessing the preparedness to infectious diseases outbreaks among people exposed to climate disasters in six districts in Mozambique. Structured form was delivered via face-to-face between October 15th and November 7th, 2022. Study outcome was defined as a seven-point score of preparedness to infectious disease outbreaks. Multivariable analysis of the score was conducted using Conway-Maxwell-Poisson regression. RESULTS: This study included 2,140 households and 11,239 people, with IDPs accounting for 30% of them. Overall, 1,186 (55.4%) households were overcrowded. Median score of preparedness was 3 points (IQR 2-4). At multivariable analyses, districts with low preparedness were Montepuez and Mueda. Higher preparedness was associated with family planning (p < 0.0001), access to primary education for all children living in the household (p < 0.001) and possession of a birth certificate for all children aged < 5y (p < 0.0001), while preparedness was heterogeneous among the districts (p < 0.05). Households composed by IDPs were not associated with a lower preparedness score. CONCLUSIONS: In climate-vulnerable communities in Mozambique, households practicing family planning, providing access to primary education and birth certificate for all children were less vulnerable to water-borne and vector-borne infectious disease outbreaks. Being family planning and childcare primarily performed by women, our findings can inform policymakers and practitioners on the importance of addressing women to mitigate the impact of climate disasters and reduce the risk of infectious disease outbreaks.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Emotional Reactions to the Flint Water Crisis among Michigan Women in Communities Outside of Flint.

Objective: To determine whether Black women in Michigan communities outside of Flint were more likely than women in other racial and ethnic groups to report negative emotional reactions to the Flint Water Crisis, an ongoing public health disaster that has been widely attributed to anti-Black structural racism. Methods: Data were from a 2020 survey of Michigan women aged 18-45 in communities outside of Flint (N=888). We used logistic regression models to examine racial and ethnic differences in the odds of negative emotional reactions to the Flint Water Crisis. Results: Compared with Black women, White women had lower odds of feeling scared (odds ratio [OR]=0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.84), hopeless (OR=0.53; 95% CI, 0.38-0.74), tired (OR=0.45; 95% CI, 0.32-0.64), and numb (OR=0.52; 95% CI, 0.35-0.75) when thinking about the water crisis. There were no differences between Black and Hispanic women, whereas women of other races or ethnicities had lower odds than Black women of feeling numb (OR=0.32; 95% CI, 0.14-0.72). Conclusions: The Flint Water Crisis was a racialized stressor, with potential implications for mental health inequities among Michigan women who were not directly affected by the crisis.

Extreme Weather Injuries and Fatalities, 2006 to 2021.

Importance: Extreme weather has major implications for state and national health care systems; however, statistics examining weather-related injuries and fatalities are limited. Objective: To examine the frequency and regional distribution of major disaster events (MDEs) in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants: This ecologic cross-sectional study of MDEs occurring between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2021, evaluated US data on all injuries and fatalities included in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information Storm Events Database. The data analysis was performed between February 22, 2023, and April 1, 2024. Exposures: Major disaster events defined as an environmental event that caused either at least 50 injuries or at least 10 deaths. Main Outcomes and Measures: All MDEs were evaluated using descriptive statistics for event type, property damage, and rural or urban classification according to the National Centers for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties. The location of events according to Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) region and hospital bed capacity of ASPR regions were also examined. Results: Between 2006 and 2021, 11 159 storm events caused 42 254 injuries and 9760 deaths. Major disaster events accounted for 209 weather events (1.9%) but caused 19 463 weather-associated injuries (46.1%) and 2189 weather-associated deaths (22.4%). The majority of MDEs were caused by extreme heat (86 [41.1%]) and tornadoes (67 [32.1%]). While a larger proportion of MDEs occurred in urban areas (151 [75.1%]) vs rural areas (50 [24.9%]), rural MDEs caused a median of 9 (IQR, 2-16) deaths per event vs 4 (IQR, 0-14) deaths per event in urban areas. The majority of MDEs occurred in either ASPR region 4 (51 [24.5%]) or region 9 (45 [21.6%]). Certain event types, such as fires, wind, and hurricanes or storms, were geographically concentrated, while extreme heat and floods affected regions across the US equally. Urban counties had disproportionately greater hospital bed capacity than rural counties relative to population and MDE distributions. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this ecologic study indicate that while MDEs accounted for a small proportion of all weather events, they were associated with a disproportionate number of injuries and fatalities. Integrating these data into county, state, and regional hazard vulnerability analyses is crucial to ensuring preparedness and mitigating climate risk.

Emergency Radiology in the First 24 h of Two Major Earthquakes on the Same Day and Radiologic Evaluation of Trauma Cases.

BACKGROUND: On 6 February 2023, two major earthquakes occurred in Turkey on the same day. More than 50,000 people died, and more than 100,000 people were injured in these earthquakes. The aim of this study is to contribute to disaster management plans by evaluating the functioning of a radiology department and the imaging examinations performed after this disaster. METHODS: The functioning of the radiology clinic at Malatya Training and Research Hospital in the first 24 h after the earthquake was evaluated. The images of 596 patients who were admitted to Malatya Training and Research Hospital for earthquake-related trauma between 6 February 2023, at 4:17 a.m. and 7 February 2023, at 4:17 a.m., and who underwent radiography and computed tomography (CT) were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 37.3 ± 20.1 years. A total of 313 (52.5%) patients were male. The most frequently performed imaging test was a CT scan. In total, 437 (73.3%) of 596 patients underwent a CT scan. At least one body part was affected in 160 patients (26.8%). The most commonly affected regions were the thorax, vertebrae, and extremities. Thoracic findings were observed in 52 patients (32.5%), vertebral findings in 52 patients (32.5%), and extremity findings in 46 patients (28.7%). Fractures were the most common finding in our study. Of the 160 patients with pathologic findings, 139 (86.9%) had evidence of fractures. CONCLUSIONS: The role of radiology in disasters is important. When disaster preparedness plans are made, radiology departments should be actively involved in these plans. This will ensure the quick and efficient functioning of radiology departments.