In addition to collecting adequate information on the location and severity of the injury and disposition of each patient, the surveillance team should attempt to record, for each patient, a permanent point of contact outside the disaster impact area so that epidemiologists conducting follow-up studies and/or surveillance efforts can find them, even if they are not able to return to their previous addresses because of earthquake damage. Depending on the urgency of the situation, some information can be collected on the spot about how an injury was sustained. Good basic data collected at the outset will both provide decision makers with accurate data on injuries and form the basis for lessons applicable to the next earthquake.