ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL NEEDS DURING DISASTERS CAUSED BY TROPICAL CYCLONES - ANTICIPATED INJURY PATTERNS

This paper is a summary of the data for describing the distribution of injuries among people affected by tropical cyclones that have occurre d during the past 20 years. The most striking feature of the data gath ered from a review of the epidemiologic literature on tropical cyclone s is its lack of uniformity. The absence of an international classific ation and coding scheme for recording injuries sustained in cyclones a lso makes planning medical assistance difficult following future cyclo nes and hurricanes. We propose here a simple injury classification sch eme comprising three components for categorizing injury data. Such a s tandardized disaster injury classification scheme, coupled with other types of information about injuries, will greatly aid relief officials in efficiently matching available resources to needs, in effectively managing health relief operations, and in developing strategies to pre vent future cyclone-related morbidity and mortality.