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[HDS08-05] Observations from the February 6 2023 Mw7.7 and Mw7.6 Kahramanmaras, Turkiye Earthquakes and Expected Contributions from MARTEST project for Disaster Resilient Societies
Keywords:Seismic Damage, Liquefaction, Infrastructure, Mitigation, Resiliency, Disasters
Two major earthquakes with magnitudes of Mw7.7 and Mw7.6 hit 13 cities in the southern part of Turkiye and northern part of Syria on February 6, 2023. The earthquakes with epicenters in Pazarcik (Kahramanmaras) and Elbistan (Kahramanmaras) occurred consecutively on the same day, one at 04:17 local time and the other one at 13:24. There were also many aftershocks with significant magnitudes in the area. The total population affected by the earthquake was about 14,000,000. The earthquakes caused more than 40,000 deaths as of the submission of this paper. It was deadliest disaster of the last century in Turkiye.
The earthquakes caused a rare disaster in a large area and affected different type of structures such as buildings, lifelines, highways, bridges, and industrial facilities. Fault ruptures extended approximately 300 km crossing the cities and damaging structures. Some of the cities and towns were destroyed almost completely. Many geotechnical problems including landslides, liquefaction, differential settlements were observed in the area. Liquefaction was extensive in many locations (e.g, Golbasi, Iskenderun) damaging the structures. In addition, lifelines were affected severally, resulted in halt of vital services for the society like electricity, water, and gas services. Because of the great number of collapsed buildings and related extensive rescue efforts, the restorations of those services were slow. Furthermore, damages in gas pipelines delayed the return of gas services. Damage to industrial facilities and local shops, evacuation of people to different locations, migration to localities out of the disaster area hampered the continuation of businesses in many cities. This study presents the observations from the reconnaissance studies performed after the earthquakes in the disaster area.
The observations in the earthquake hit area proved once again the importance of efforts to create earthquake resistant societies. SATREPS project entitled “MARTEST - Establishment of a Research and Education Complex for Developing Disaster-Resilient Societies” will be conducted between Japan and Turkiye with the cooperation of JST and JICA starting from April 1, 2023, for 5 years exactly aiming to satisfy this strong need. One of the common problems noticed in the early days of the response to Kahramanmaras earthquakes was disaster management and coordination issues. Following the rescue and relief efforts, however, recovery and reconstruction of the cities in the disaster area will start. It is important at this stage not to repeat the mistakes made in the past for the city planning and design and construction of structures. Furthermore, there are several regions in Turkey with a high imminent seismic risk. The building stocks and structure types in those regions are like the ones in the disaster area of Kahramanmaras earthquakes. It is expected that the MARTEST project will contribute to the aim of establishing earthquake resistant societies by several means such as urban disaster risk mitigation studies, strengthening capacities of concerned organizations for pre-disaster recovery planning /district continuity planning, and develop programs and materials for disaster literacy improvement. Preliminary observations from Kahramanmaras earthquakes provide very valuable knowledge and practice in guiding the efforts of collaborative partners in MARTEST project with these objectives.
The earthquakes caused a rare disaster in a large area and affected different type of structures such as buildings, lifelines, highways, bridges, and industrial facilities. Fault ruptures extended approximately 300 km crossing the cities and damaging structures. Some of the cities and towns were destroyed almost completely. Many geotechnical problems including landslides, liquefaction, differential settlements were observed in the area. Liquefaction was extensive in many locations (e.g, Golbasi, Iskenderun) damaging the structures. In addition, lifelines were affected severally, resulted in halt of vital services for the society like electricity, water, and gas services. Because of the great number of collapsed buildings and related extensive rescue efforts, the restorations of those services were slow. Furthermore, damages in gas pipelines delayed the return of gas services. Damage to industrial facilities and local shops, evacuation of people to different locations, migration to localities out of the disaster area hampered the continuation of businesses in many cities. This study presents the observations from the reconnaissance studies performed after the earthquakes in the disaster area.
The observations in the earthquake hit area proved once again the importance of efforts to create earthquake resistant societies. SATREPS project entitled “MARTEST - Establishment of a Research and Education Complex for Developing Disaster-Resilient Societies” will be conducted between Japan and Turkiye with the cooperation of JST and JICA starting from April 1, 2023, for 5 years exactly aiming to satisfy this strong need. One of the common problems noticed in the early days of the response to Kahramanmaras earthquakes was disaster management and coordination issues. Following the rescue and relief efforts, however, recovery and reconstruction of the cities in the disaster area will start. It is important at this stage not to repeat the mistakes made in the past for the city planning and design and construction of structures. Furthermore, there are several regions in Turkey with a high imminent seismic risk. The building stocks and structure types in those regions are like the ones in the disaster area of Kahramanmaras earthquakes. It is expected that the MARTEST project will contribute to the aim of establishing earthquake resistant societies by several means such as urban disaster risk mitigation studies, strengthening capacities of concerned organizations for pre-disaster recovery planning /district continuity planning, and develop programs and materials for disaster literacy improvement. Preliminary observations from Kahramanmaras earthquakes provide very valuable knowledge and practice in guiding the efforts of collaborative partners in MARTEST project with these objectives.