[Disaster nursing: one nurse's role and experience during the Fukushima Power Plant disaster following the Great East Japan Earthquake]

Abstract

The Richter-scale 9.0 earthquake that struck Northeast Japan on March 11th, 2011 caused a tsunami that damaged the Fukushima No. 1 Power Plant and released enormous amounts of radiation into the environment. Many area residents were evacuated to several protected fallout shelters. Prior to the tsunami, Fukashima had around 505,760 residents over 65 years of age, comprising 24.9% of the city's pre-tsunami population of Fukushima (City of Fukushima, 2011). The high proportion of elderly contributed to difficulties encountered in evacuating and caring for Fukushima citizens in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The first author participated in disaster relief efforts in two fallout shelters in Fukushima. This article was written to share her post-disaster care experience and learned knowledge with medical care professionals in Taiwan and other high earthquake risk areas. The article also offers guidelines on appropriate medical personnel response and behavior with regard to disaster response. We hope this experience-sharing offers positive suggestions for the future and facilitates improved disaster-care education in East Asia and enhanced international cooperation on disaster rescue.