Regarding the earthquake that occurred near the Syrian border in southern Turkey, a doctor who has been involved in medical care in overseas disaster areas said that in past disasters, there are cases where people can survive even 72 hours after the occurrence, when the survival rate is said to be low. It is necessary to continue to support rescue operations in the future.
Dr. Inoriyuki I of Chikamori Hospital in Kochi City, who has been involved in medical care in the affected areas as a member of the Japan Disaster Relief Team after major earthquakes overseas, commented on the damage caused by the earthquake, saying, "The earthquake struck at 4:00 a.m. local time. It is not hard to imagine that more people were sleeping because they woke up around that time, and more people were crushed by debris or buried alive. It is a situation that greatly affects the lives of people."
On top of that, regarding the fact that 72 hours have passed since the occurrence of a disaster, when the survival rate is said to drop sharply this morning, he said, ``In the past, there were cases where people survived for more than 72 hours. It's not tough or anything like that," he said, adding that support such as rescue operations will continue to be necessary.
Regarding the future, he said, "Even after rescue operations, people will continue to live in evacuation centers and other places that are different from their normal lives, and it will take a long period of time, from several months to several years, to lead to reconstruction. We should be able to communicate what kind of support is needed from time to time. We need to continue providing support for a long time to meet local needs such as heating, food, and temporary housing."