PROFILE OF MORTALITY FROM THE 1989 LOMA-PRIETA EARTHQUAKE USING CORONER AND MEDICAL EXAMINER REPORTS

Mortality patterns from earthquakes in the United States may differ fr om those observed in other parts of the world. We reviewed coroner and medical examiner records for all investigated deaths from seven Calif ornia counties for 15 days following the Loma Prieta earthquake of Oct ober 17, 1989 (N = 327). Data on the circumstances surrounding death w ere used to classify each case as directly earthquake-related, indirec tly earthquake-related, or not earthquake-related. Fifty-seven deaths were judged as directly earthquake-related. Six other deaths were indi rectly related. Ten circumstances accounted for all directly earthquak e-related deaths, with the collapse of an elevated freeway accounting for 40 of these deaths. Forty-six (80.8 per cent) of the 57 directly e arthquake-related deaths occurred in motor vehicles on public roadways . Fifty-three (93.0 per cent) of the directly earthquake-related death s occurred within seconds or minutes of injury. Future earthquake deat hs in the United States may best be prevented by identifying and modif ying seismic hazards in earthquake-prone regions, particularly transpo rtation structures.