CONCLUSIONS

In the last decade, disaster research has shown to be most valuable in planning preventive and relief measures and in evaluating their effectiveness. Examples of research on earthquakes indicate that reinforcement of self-reliance on the community's own resources might contribute a great deal more to mitigation of damages than belated outside assistance. Moreover, through severe contraints in time the bulk of affective disaster relief has always been provided by local people. This has plain implications for the future. In disaster prone areas it is well worth-wile educating the people in methods of rescue and adequately training community health workers and medical personnel. Disaster relief and preparedness is an integral part of primary health care.

TABLE I: Mortality by age, before and after rescue Earthquake Italy 1980.

age groups (years)	N	death rate* before rescue	death rate* after rescue 18 month period
0-19	1034	49.3 ‰	3 ‰
20-39	648	38.6 ‰	10 ‰
40 - 54	943	49.8 ‰	15 ‰
> 60	944	70.9 ‰	46 ‰
Total	3619**	53.0 ‰	18 ‰

*per thousand people exposed
**sample population

Fig. 1 - Adjustment between health needs and available resources in function of time phases of natural disasters.

Fig. 2 - Proportion of trapped people still to be estricated (^___) and proportion of people extricated alive according to time of extrication (- - -).