Peek-Asa C, Ramirez M R, Shoaf K, Seligson H, Kraus J F
Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles 90095-1772, USA.
Ann Epidemiol. 2000 Jan;10(1):5-13. doi: 10.1016/s1047-2797(99)00058-7.
Earthquakes pose a persistent but unpredictable health threat. Although knowledge of geologic earthquake hazards for buildings has increased, spatial relations between injuries and seismic activity have not been explained.
Fatal and hospital-admitted earthquake injuries due to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake were identified. Geographical Information Systems software was used to map all injury locations. Injuries were analyzed with regard to distance from the earthquake epicenter, the Modified Mercalli Intensity Index, peak ground acceleration, and proportion of damaged residential buildings.
Injury severity was inversely related to distance from the epicenter and increased with increasing ground motion and building damage. However, injury incidence and severity were not completely predicted by seismic hazard and building damage, and injuries of all severities occurred in a large geographic area. Average distance to the epicenter was smallest for injuries related to falling building parts and largest for cutting/piercing injuries and falls.
The injuries from the Northridge Earthquake extended beyond the areas of highest environmental activity. Factors such as age and activity during the earthquake may be equally important in predicting injury from earthquakes as seismic features.
地震构成了持续但不可预测的健康威胁。尽管人们对建筑物的地质地震灾害的了解有所增加，但受伤情况与地震活动之间的空间关系尚未得到解释。
确定了1994年北岭地震造成的致命和住院地震伤。使用地理信息系统软件绘制所有受伤地点的地图。分析了受伤情况与距地震震中的距离、改良麦加利烈度表、地面峰值加速度以及受损住宅建筑比例之间的关系。
伤害严重程度与距震中的距离呈负相关，并随着地面运动和建筑物损坏程度的增加而增加。然而，伤害发生率和严重程度并不能完全由地震灾害和建筑物损坏情况预测，而且各种严重程度的伤害都发生在很大的地理区域内。与建筑物部件坠落相关的伤害到震中的平均距离最短，切割/刺伤和跌倒造成的伤害到震中的平均距离最长。
北岭地震造成的伤害超出了环境活动最剧烈的区域。地震发生时的年龄和活动等因素在预测地震伤害方面可能与地震特征同样重要。
