title: Better be prepared than sorry: what should the New Zealand healthcare system learn from the 2009 Pacific Tsunami?
abstract: On the early hours of the 29 September 2009, an earthquake in the Pacific generated a massive tsunami that caused significant destruction and claimed many lives across several Pacific nations. The disaster initiated an international relief operation from New Zealand (NZ), Australia, and the United States. The NZ healthcare response was adequate given the multiple challenges encountered. This article reviews the challenges faced by NZ healthcare responders to the Pacific Tsunami. Furthermore, it presents the lessons learnt from this operation in order to enhance the NZ healthcare system preparedness to respond to future disasters and mass emergencies nationally and internationally.
authors.affiliation: Preventative and Social Medicine Department, Dunedin School of Medicine, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. alssu455@student.otago.ac.nz
authors.forename: Sultan I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Al-Shaqsi
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006078:Government Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D019156:Indian Ocean; D007195:Indian Ocean Islands; D007391:International Cooperation; D008493:Medical Missions / Q000458:organization & administration; D009520:New Zealand; D012066:Relief Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D057192:Tsunamis