 Crush injuries are common in major disasters , but especially so in earthquakes . The aftermath of the 1988 Spitak earthquake prompted the establishment , in 1995 , of the Renal Disaster Relief Task Force , a working group of the International Society of Nephrology ( a worldwide body of kidney experts ) . Its volunteer doctors and nurses assisted for the first time in the 1999 İzmit earthquake in Turkey , where 462 people received dialysis , with positive results . Treatment units are generally established outside the immediate disaster area , as aftershocks could potentially injure or kill staff and make equipment unusable . 
