Research on Victim Trapped Classification under Collapsed Structures in Destructive Earthquake: a case study of the 2014 Ludian earthquake, China

Earthquake rescue operations are time-critical tasks aimed at saving more lives in the shortest amount of time. If there is a classification system as a reference, measuring the extrication difficulty of the buried victims, the deployment of rescue forces could be more reasonable. To this end, this paper focused on the research of victim trapped classification, ranking the efforts needed to rescue victims under collapsed structures into three levels: surface, moderate and, deep trapped. The relevant criteria were identified in view of field surveys and internationally accepted guidelines. In addition, we calculated the weights of each criterion based on the investigation of 87 experienced rescue specialists around the world and constructed the classification system through the Delphi theory. A case study of the Ludian earthquake in China was applied in the last phase. The result suggested a good fit between the actual intensity map and output prioritized areas for the rescue team. The research could serve as the description of extrication difficulty according to the rescue time and operations needed in the rescue mission and in turn offer to provide a basis for improved planning of relief teams at all levels.