Two months since the March 11 earthquake-tsunami hit Tohoku, the nearly 120,000 evacuees still living in temporary shelters are more likely to suffer a deterioration in health. Therefore, help from the medical professionals on the scene has become more important than ever, as the tsunami swept away numerous medical facilities, and killed many local doctors and nurses.
After the 1995 Kobe quake, some 500 survivors died within 48 hours because of inadequate medical treatment. In total, more than 900 people died for similar reasons. The lesson from the Kobe quake gave rise to the establishment of disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs). After the March 11 disasters, some 340 DMATs from around Japan arrived in the impacted areas.
Meanwhile, the Japan Medical Association, a nationwide organization of doctors, for the first time, organized the Japan Medical Assistance Teams (JMATs). It has sent some 700 JMATs from across the country to the devastated region.