Soil liquefaction sites following the February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş-Türkiye earthquake sequence

Abstract

AbstractSeismically induced soil liquefaction was listed as one of the major causes of damage observed in the natural and built environment during the 2023 Türkiye-Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence. Reconnaissance field investigations were performed to collect perishable data and document the extent of damage immediately after the events. The sites with surface manifestations of seismic soil liquefaction in the form of soil ejecta, excessive foundation and ground deformations were identified and documented. The deformations were mapped, and samples from ejecta were retrieved. The ejecta samples were predominantly classified as sands with varying degrees of fines. Laboratory test results performed on liquefied soil ejecta revealed that the fines-containing liquefied ejecta samples are mostly classified as low plasticity clays (CL). Most of CL soil type ejecta were retrieved from Gölbaşı–Adıyaman region. The liquid limits of these samples varied in between 32 and 38%, their plasticity index values were estimated in the range of 16–23%. Surprisingly, two ejecta samples with plasticity indices higher than 30% were retrieved from Hatay airport, one of which was classified as high plasticity clay (CH). The majority of the fine-grained ejecta samples fall either on “Zone B: Testing Recommended” region of the Seed et al. (Keynote presentation, 26th Annual ASCE Los Angeles Geotechnical Spring Seminar, Long Beach, CA, 2003) susceptibility chart. Moreover, 12 out of 74 samples fall outside the susceptible limits defined by Seed et. These preliminary results suggest that clayey soils can produce liquefied ejecta when subjected to cyclic loading. Detailed site investigation and laboratory testing programs are ongoing to further investigate this rather unexpected response. Until their findings become available, the liquefaction susceptibility of silty-clayey soils’ mixtures is recommended to be assessed conservatively with caution.