Initial response to the 2024 Noto earthquake by the university hospital closest to the disaster area

Abstract Major earthquakes have occurred frequently in Japan throughout the course of history, and the 2024 Noto earthquake was no exception. However, such natural disasters do differ in some respects, and specific problems related to these events have also become clear. Our hospital, which was the closest university hospital to the disaster area of the 2024 Noto earthquake, is playing a crucial role in serving the local community in the wake of the earthquake. The first method used to identify disaster-related patients was to tag them when they were examined by a physician. After confirming that a patient was eligible at the disaster-related patient-determination meeting, the patients’ medical information was extracted from the tag name. A total of 421 disaster-related patients were transported and hospitalized by day 31. Fifty-two (14.4%) and 48 (13.3%) patients were admitted for orthopedic surgery and respiratory medicine, respectively. Forty (11.1%) and 38 (10.5%) patients were admitted to the cardiology and nephrology departments, respectively. These four departments accounted for 49.3% of the total. The number of hospitalized patients in the nephrology and orthopedic surgery departments was high immediately after the earthquake. We also describe new hospital-specific initiatives and recommendations to improve our hospital's system while sharing our hospital experience.