Studies on earthquake countermeasures and damage status of medical and welfare facilities

Abstract

Disaster preparedness is an important issue for medical and welfare facilities, such as hospitals, which must continue to engage in medical activities, even in the event of a disaster, and facilities for the elderly, which have many persons who have difficulty evacuating. In Japan, where natural disasters, especially earthquakes occur frequently, the importance of disaster preparedness and business continuity has been pointed out, even before the Great East Japan Earthquake. In addition, various studies have been conducted on both building facilities and management.

This paper provides an overview of the research and studies that have been conducted regarding earthquakes and other natural disasters that occurred before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and introduces the issues that have been identified.