Abstract:

On February 6th, 2023, at 04:17, our country was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of Mw=7.7. The epicenter was Pazarcık, Kahramanmaraş. About nine hours later, at 13:24, a second earthquake with a magnitude of Mw=7.6 occurred in Elbistan, Kahramanmaraş. After the earthquakes, 11 cities in the region were declared as disaster zones. According to the data of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, it has been determined that 582 thousand independent sections and 202 thousand buildings in the region are to be demolished immediately, heavily damaged or demolished. In this article, as a result of the investigations made in the earthquake effected regions, which started on the day of the earthquake and lasted for 5 days, the problems that caused the collapse of reinforced concrete buildings were explained in a hierarchical triangle, in the order of importance. Insufficient development length, end of the stirrups not bent at 135°, problems with the materials, lack of confinement regions at the ends of columns and beams, strong beam-weak column, etc. It has been observed that these problems constitute a significant part of the collapses. It was determined that the collapsed structures did not meet the requirements of the earthquake regulations in effect at the time they were built.