Investigation of the Damages Due to Heavy Earthen Roofs on Masonry Buildings during the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes

Abstract

Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, which occurred on 06 February 2023 at 4.17 (Pazarcık) and 13.24 (Elbistan) local time, caused very important structural damages in both urban and rural building stock. This paper deals with field investigations involving structural damages in masonry buildings with heavy earthen roofs after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. It also includes location-specific earthquake ground accelerations and response spectra for these earthquakes. 11 provinces were affected by the earthquakes that occurred on the same day, and more than 300,000 buildings were damaged or collapsed. With the examinations made in rural areas, it has been observed that the dominant building stock is masonry buildings and these buildings are mostly built using heavy earthen roofs and wooden beams. Especially in buildings where the wooden beams are not properly connected to the wall, it has been observed that the roof collapses completely or causes out-of-plane damage to the wall as a result of the large moments of inertia it creates. It has been observed that most of the buildings built in rural areas are not built in accordance with the regulations and are built without any engineering service.