Anesthesiology in Times of Physical Disasters-Earthquakes and Typhoons

Abstract

Nepal and Hong Kong both are susceptible to natural disasters due to their geographic locations. Nepal suffers from frequent earthquakes, and Hong Kong regularly experiences typhoons of varying severity. Natural disasters may present acutely or with some advance warning. In either case, it is critical that disaster response plans are well established in advance of any incident. This article discusses the anesthetic and critical care implications of such natural disasters, using Nepal and Hong Kong as case studies.

Keywords: Anesthesiology; Critical care; Disaster management; Earthquake; Emergency response; Hong Kong; Nepal; Typhoon.