title: The evacuation of cairns hospitals due to severe tropical cyclone Yasi.
abstract: On February 2, 2011, Tropical Cyclone Yasi, the largest cyclone to cross the Australian coast and a system the size of Hurricane Katrina, threatened the city of Cairns. As a result, the Cairns Base Hospital (CBH) and Cairns Private Hospital (CPH) were both evacuated, the hospitals were closed, and an alternate emergency medical center was established in a sports stadium 15 km from the Cairns central business district. This article describes the events around the evacuation of 356 patients, staff, and relatives to Brisbane (approximately 1,700 km away by road), closure of the hospitals, and the provision of a temporary emergency medical center for 28 hours during the height of the cyclone. Our experience highlights the need for adequate and exercised hospital evacuation plans; the need for clear command and control with identified decision-makers; early decision-making on when to evacuate; having good communication systems with redundancy; ensuring that patients are adequately identified and tracked and have their medications and notes; ensuring adequate staff, medications, and oxygen for holding patients; and planning in detail the alternate medical facility safety and its role, function, and equipment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Cairns Base Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. mark_little@health.qld.gov.au
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: Theona
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Humble
authors.forename: Emmeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aitken
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elcock
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gillard
mesh_terms: D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods*; D004190:Disasters; D004630:Emergencies; D060447:Emergency Shelter / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011793:Queensland; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000458:organization & administration*