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. 2017 Oct 10;14(10):1201.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101201.

Assessment of the Public Health Risks and Impact of a Tornado in Funing, China, 23 June 2016: A Retrospective Analysis

Kaiwen Wang  1 , Shuang Zhong  2 , Xiaoye Wang  3 , Zhe Wang  4 , Lianping Yang  5 , Qiong Wang  6 , Suhan Wang  7 , Rongrong Sheng  8 , Rui Ma  9 , Shao Lin  10 , Wenyu Liu  11 , Rongqiang Zu  12 , Cunrui Huang  13
Affiliations

Assessment of the Public Health Risks and Impact of a Tornado in Funing, China, 23 June 2016: A Retrospective Analysis

Kaiwen Wang et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Tornadoes are one of the deadliest disasters but their health impacts in China are poorly investigated. This study aimed to assess the public health risks and impact of an EF-4 tornado outbreak in Funing, China; (2) Methods: A retrospective analysis on the characteristics of tornado-related deaths and injuries was conducted based on the database from the Funing's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Funing People's Hospital. A change-point time-series analysis of weekly incidence for the period January 2010 to September 2016 was used to identify sensitive infectious diseases to the tornado; (3) Results: The 75 to 84 years old group was at the highest risk of both death (RR = 82.16; 95% CIs = 19.66, 343.33) and injury (RR = 31.80; 95% CI = 17.26, 58.61), and females were at 53% higher risk of death than males (RR = 1.53; 95% CIs = 1.02, 2.29). Of the 337 injuries, 274 injuries (81%) were minor. Most deaths occurred indoors (87%) and the head (74%) was the most frequent site of trauma during the tornado. Five diseases showed downward change-points; (4) Conclusions: The experience of the Funing tornado underscores the relative danger of being indoors during a tornado and is successful in avoiding epidemics post-tornado. Current international safety guidelines need modification when generalized to China.

Keywords: death and injury; infectious disease; natural disaster; public health impact; tornado.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location and pathway of the Funing tornado, 23 June 2016. (A) Location of Funing county in Jiangsu Province, China; (B) Remote sensing photomap of the tornado pathway.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Characteristics of deaths and injuries of the tornado in Funing, 23 June 2016. (A) Death and injury rate among males and females; (B) cause and location of decedents; (C) location of decedents among different age and gender groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Change-points of notifiable infectious diseases in Funing from January 2010 to September 2016. Results show the time series (1st week, 2010–40th week, 2016) of weekly cases on nine notable infectious diseases. Blue line represents the onset of tornado.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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