Damages and causes on the structures during the October 23, 2011 Van earthquake in Turkey

Abstract

The earthquake in Van Province took place at 13.41 (with local time, GMT+3) on October 23, 2011 with a magnitude of 7.2 in Turkey. The earthquake with an approximate rupture duration of 50s occurred at 43.36 Eastern longitude and 38.75 Northern latitude at a depth of 10–15km below the surface of the earth, triggering an average displacement of 2 m in Northeast–Southwest direction. With Van’s Erciş Town constituting the epicenter, the earthquake was felt in the city center and surrounding villages, along with the nearby provinces of Erzurum, Ağrı, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Muş, Bitlis, Iğdır, Kars, Batman, Siirt and their respective towns. According to the data released by Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, 2288 buildings fully collapsed as a result of the earthquake. Analyzing the structural characteristics of the region, it is observed that urban centers are dominated by RC buildings, while mostly adobe structures prevail in the rural areas. The on-site technical investigations revealed that the damages were caused mostly by faulty concrete production, defects in reinforcement details and the poor quality of workmanship. In the study, impacts of the mentioned earthquake on the structures in the region and the underlying reasons were analyzed, and a number of recommendations were provided to prevent the repetition of similar flaws.