[Effects of typhoon-caused power failure on medical care facilities]

Abstract

In the evening of September 27, Typhoon 19 passed Yamaguchi prefecture. The wind velocity exceeded anything that the local meteorological observatory has ever recorded so far in this area. When the typhoon was off shore near Yamaguchi prefecture, the gale brought down many electric-light poles around Hofu city with power failure in Hofu city continuing for more than a week. At the same time the total number of emergency patients in Hofu area was the most in the prefecture. Because the power failure continued for many days, there was more indirect damage attributable to this power failure than the damage related directly to the typhoon. The capacity of the emergency electric power generator equipment installed in the Central prefectural hospital in Hofu city is the largest in Yamaguchi prefecture. Even while electric power failed completely in the Hofu city area, treatment of most of the emergency patients at this hospital was possible. There is no hospital that has as large an electric generator as the Central hospital has. Had this typhoon hit in another area, the ensuring confusion which might have occurred at hospitals in that area would have put many patients in danger with the power failure in many hospitals. Power consumption needs in hospitals have increased over that expected on the time the hospital was built. Therefore, the electric power generators installed in hospitals are of the times very small and unable to cope with massive electrical outage.