# Situation: An earthquake damaged houses and the piped water supply of a municipality. Six hundred families, averaging 5 members each, stay in a school building used as an evacuation center, where the public health nurse leads the health team. Using the Sphere key indicator of at least 15 liters of water per person per day for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene, how much water should the team request each day for the evacuees? No rounding is needed; give the answer in liters per day.

> source: MyMerci (mymerci.kr)  
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> subject: Nursing Practice I — Community Health Nursing

## 문제

Situation: An earthquake damaged houses and the piped water supply of a municipality. Six hundred families, averaging 5 members each, stay in a school building used as an evacuation center, where the public health nurse leads the health team.

Using the Sphere key indicator of at least 15 liters of water per person per day for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene, how much water should the team request each day for the evacuees? No rounding is needed; give the answer in liters per day.

## 보기

1. 3,000 L
2. 9,000 L
3. 45,000 L **✔ 정답**
4. 1,350,000 L

**정답: 3**

## 해설

Number of evacuees = 600 families × 5 members = 3,000 persons. Daily requirement = 3,000 × 15 liters = 45,000 liters per day, the minimum key indicator of the Sphere standard.

## 심화 해설

Core calculation

The evacuation center houses 600 families, and each family averages 5 members. Multiplying these gives 3,000 persons. The Sphere key indicator sets a minimum of 15 liters per person per day for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene. Therefore, the daily water request is 3,000 × 15 = 45,000 liters per day.

The correct answer is 45,000 L/day, which represents the minimum quantity needed to meet basic survival and hygiene needs in a mass displacement setting.

Why this matters in disaster nursing

In a post-earthquake evacuation center, the public health nurse must estimate resource needs before shortages develop. Water is prioritized because inadequate supply rapidly leads to dehydration, poor hand hygiene, and outbreaks of diarrheal disease. The Sphere standard is a widely used humanitarian benchmark, and the 15 L/person/day figure is the minimum acceptable level for short-term survival; it does not include water for laundry, full bathing, or facility cleaning.

Watch out! Do not confuse the per-person daily minimum with a per-family or per-week figure. The problem gives families and members per family, so the first step is always to convert to total persons before multiplying by the daily per-person allocation.

Step-by-step reasoning for exam settings

| Step | Action | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Identify total evacuees: 600 families × 5 members | 3,000 persons |
| 2 | Apply Sphere minimum: 15 L/person/day | 15 L |
| 3 | Multiply total persons by daily allocation | 45,000 L/day |

Key point! The answer is a daily volume, not a total for the entire disaster period. If the question later asks for a 7-day supply, multiply 45,000 L by 7 to get 315,000 L.

Clinical and public health context

Water quantity is only one part of the Sphere water supply standard. The same standard also addresses water quality, access distance, and queueing time. In an evacuation center, the nurse should verify that water points are within 500 meters of shelters and that each tap serves no more than 250 people. However, the question asks only for the quantity calculation, so the numeric answer remains 45,000 L/day.

The provided reference materials do not address disaster water supply calculations, so no additional evidence from those abstracts is used here. The calculation follows the Sphere key indicator stated in the question stem.

## 임상 시나리오

Disaster Water Supply CalculationSphere minimum for evacuation centers
Convert the population first: 600 families × 5 members = 3,000 persons. Then apply the Sphere key indicator of 15 L/person/day for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene.

Daily request = 3,000 × 15 = 45,000 L/day. This is the minimum acceptable volume for short-term survival; it excludes laundry, full bathing, and facility cleaning.

CautionDo not use the family count as the person count. Always convert to total persons before multiplying by the daily per-person allocation to avoid underestimating the water need.

## 핵심 개념

- **Sphere standard** — Humanitarian benchmark defining minimum water supply of 15 L/person/day for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene in emergencies
- **Evacuation center** — A facility such as a school used to temporarily shelter displaced persons after a disaster
- **Minimum water requirement** — The lowest daily per-person water volume needed to prevent dehydration and maintain basic hygiene

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