Introduction: On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula earthquake struck, causing significant damage, particularly in the Oku Noto region. The Japanese government, through relevant agencies, deployed medical containers. However, many challenges emerged in the deployment of these medical containers due to the lack of maintenance and systematization. This study aims to clarify the challenges in the maintenance of mobile medical containers during disaster operations and the necessity of systematization. Methods: This study examines the “Report on the Deployment and Operation of Medical Containers During the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake,” along with field surveys and interviews with the maintenance team. Results: The maintenance team patrolled daily for two months to maintain the scattered containers in the disaster area. However, they faced extreme difficulties, such as road collapses due to the earthquake, snowfall, snow accumulation, low temperatures, and long-distance travel. Additionally, securing personnel was challenging. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to establish an operational system for mobile medical containers. Maintenance tasks, such as checking fuel levels of generators, monitoring container tilt, inspecting external and internal damage, and assessing snow accumulation at the installation sites, should be measured by sensors. Integrating this data into the operational system and visualizing it is necessary to reduce the burden on the maintenance team.
Maebayashi et al. (2026) studied this question.