We should pay more attention to the community context in the disaster management: lessons learned from the first days after the Khoy earthquake

Rhikhtegar, Ehsan and Fathi, Behrouz (2023) We should pay more attention to the community context in the disaster management: lessons learned from the first days after the Khoy earthquake. Health Science Monitor, 2 (2).

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Abstract

On January 28, the city of Khoy (the northwest of Iran) was struck by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale at 21:44:44 and a depth of 7 km, X: 45.01 and Y: 38.05 (1). This earthquake occurred 117 kilometers from Urmia, the capital of the West Azerbaijan Province. Over 370,000 people were affected by this earthquake, which resulted in three deaths and more than 1,750 injuries. More than 70 villages in the area and the cities of Khoy and Firouraq were damaged to varying degrees (2). A few days before the earthquake, a rumor circulated on the internet that there would be a strong earthquake on Saturday January 29th, followed by a magnitude 9 earthquake on February 16th. After the earthquake, many of affected people left their homes in the early hours and went to the cities of Salmas, Urmia, and Tabriz. In the quake-hit area, people took shelter in makeshift camps or tents near the destroyed homes. Humanitarian aid arrived from all over the country and neighboring provinces to the affected area. Government organizations, military, religious bodies, associations, unions, and non-governmental organizations provided the basic needs and equipment needed by the people of the earthquake-affected area. However, the distribution of food and equipment among people affected by the earthquake was inappropriate. For instance, some donors were providing aid directly, essential drugs were not adequately supplied. Despite the large amount of aid sent, a distribution aid was concentrated in some areas and neglected in other areas, and some people did not yet manage to receive essential items such as food, blankets, tent heating equipmen

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