An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile: immediate impact on perioperative services.

摘要

Some countries are exposed to severe natural disasters. We comment here on our experience facing this type of disaster in Chile, a country with one of the highest rates of earthquakes on the planet.At dawn on Saturday February 27, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 on the Richter scale shook the central-south zone of Chile, and minutes later, a tsunami flooded the coastal towns. This was the sixth largest earthquake on record. Five hundred twenty-six people died, housing and highways were destroyed, several hospitals were damaged, and all basic services failed. The damaged area extended over 115,000 km2 and encompassed a population of more than 4.8 million inhabitants.