Iranian Military Forces in the Bam Earthquake

Military Medicine, Oct 2005 by Abolghasemi, Hassan, Poorheidari, Gholamreza, Mehrabi, Ali, Foroutan, Ghasem

The earthquake that struck Bam, Iran, in December 2003 was one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years. Medical and assistance activities conducted by Iranian military forces in this event are discussed in light of the special capabilities of the military forces in search and rescue missions. Among the most significant activities of the Iranian military forces in this event are the following: reporting the first news about the event, starting search and rescue missions in the first hour after the disaster by the 1st Brigade of Bam as the first assisting force, setting up two field hospitals as the first Iranian field hospitals in the disaster area, transporting 937 assistance, medical, and health care personnel to the disaster area in the first day, setting up 23 field emergency and 13 field assistance centers in the area, running 8 post-hospital care centers throughout the country, and playing a significant role in airlifting 11,792 casualties to different hospitals around the country. Based on the recent experience and the exclusive abilities of military forces, a special role for these forces in search and rescue missions should be considered.

Introduction

The 6.6-magnitude Bam earthquake, one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years, left more than 40,000 people dead.1'2. The seismic features of Iran and similar events (such as the Guilan Earthquake with more than 40,000 fatalities3) in the past necessitate developing an exact disaster mitigation strategy. Programming a disaster response plan is an important component of such a strategy. Defining the exact role of different organizations could maximize the effectiveness of the plan.

People affected by disaster frequently require immediate medical care, food, water, shelter, and security. Such a response dictates a massive requirement for material, equipment, and personnel. In other studies, the utilization of military forces has been mentioned as an attractive solution to a wide variety of problems secondary to a natural disaster.4,5 The importance of a rapid response makes the military forces the best organization for complex humanitarian emergencies.6-8 These forces are trained to work as a team with discipline in austere conditions and can provide their own transportation, communications, shelter, food, water, sanitation, and security.7,9 This ability is typical of military forces, whereas many relief organizations often have serious problems providing similar logistical support for their personnel.10

We review relief activities of Iranian military forces in response to the Bam earthquake in light of their special capabilities.

Disaster Dimensions

Bam is located in Kerman Province, 620 miles southeast of Tehran. The population of Bam was approximately 100,000, which increases to more than 200,000 when the surrounding areas are included. Barn's well-known 2,000-year-old historical citadel of Arg-e-Bam was destroyed by the earthquake that struck Bam on December 26, 2003. Arg-e Bam is the largest mud-brick structure in the world. Although there are several faults in the area, the Bam fault is nearest to the city. The recent earthquake occurred as the result of a right lateral slip movement of the Bam fault.1

This earthquake of 6.6 magnitude (Richter Scale) struck at 5:28 a.m. local time on December 26, 2003. The death toll was more than 40,000, with approximately 30,000 injured2 and more than 100,000 homeless. Two hospitals collapsed, and the remaining hospitals were strained to care for the thousands injured. Electricity and telephone service were knocked out.

As shown in Table I, this earthquake was one of the most catastrophic events in recent years worldwide.2,3

Iranian Military Forces in the Bam Earthquake

To clarify the actions taken by the Iranian military forces in different phases of the relief mission in this disaster, we categorized them into three groups as follows: (1) emergency operations on the first day (regarding the importance of a rapid response in emergency situations, all operations done by Iranian military forces during the first 24 hours after the earthquake are discussed below): (2) medical operations over the following days (providing medical and health care personnel, distributing equipment and material to the affected area, providing highlevel patient care in military hospitals and clinics, and establishing post-hospital care centers for convalescence); and (3) evacuation of casualties.

Emergency Operations on the First Day

Because in a massive earthquake with large numbers of casualties, the greatest demand for patient care occurs during the first 24 to 48 hours after the disaster,12 one of the most important factors determining the success of a relief mission is how soon the relief mission is started. Observations made during earthquakes in Tangshan, China (1976), Campania-Irpinia, Italy (1980), and Armenia (1988) indicate that 85 to 95% of the victims who survived entrapment in damaged buildings were extricated within 24 hours.13-15 Immediate provision of emergency primary care could prevent a significant number of deaths.16 Available personnel, some degree of sustained presence of a military unit, organization, and discipline make military forces the best organization for rapid response.7,8,10 Two primary factors apply: use of local resources in the disaster area and transportation of required resources from outside the disaster area.