Effects of the February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş earthquake on structures in Kahramanmaraş city

Large-scale loss of life and property occurred in Kahramanmaraş and its districts, which are the city center where the epicenters of the earthquake couples that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Türkiye. Major damage has occurred in different structural systems due to the earthquake. In addition, fault traces that are the source of the earthquake were clearly observed on the ground surface. In this study, the effects of both earthquakes on soil, reinforced concrete, masonry, prefabricated, and other structural systems were evaluated observationally in Kahramanmaraş and its districts. Comparisons were made on the last two earthquake maps used in Türkiye for the locations of strong ground motion measuring devices in Kahramanmaraş. The masonry structures, which are common in rural areas in the epicenter, have been heavily damaged because they have not received engineering service. However, it is seen that the concrete buildings have insufficient strength and ductility. A similar situation is also present in industrial precast structures, and it has been observed that the damaged and collapsed in these structures are manufactured without complying with the type connection details given for prefabricated reinforced concrete structures in the codes. It has also been observed that the soil-structure interaction is the most determining parameter in the structure’s performance in these earthquake couples. Especially in weak soils, the damage to the structures has been quite heavy. The field data obtained from the earthquakes showed that some of the conditions of the current earthquake code should be discussed again.