Medical teams prepare for challenges

Medical professionals will have to face three major challenges in treating quake victims - physical trauma, post-disaster psychological shock and other disaster-related illnesses, said Darren Yang, medical director with emergency aid group International SOS Clinic.

"There will be a lot of physical trauma to deal with, such as wounds and fractures," Yang said.

"Patients of this category will be treated according to triage, which divides between problems that need immediate attention, those that are serious but not fatal, and those that are painful but not deadly."