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Field reconnaissance and observations from the February 6, 2023, Turkey earthquake sequence

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Abstract

On February 6, 2023, a sequence of earthquakes hit Kahramanmaras, Turkey, with magnitudes of Mw = 7.8 and 7.5, at 4:17 am and 1:24 pm local time, respectively. According to the records, the Mw = 7.8 event was the biggest earthquake since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake of the same magnitude and second-strongest recorded after the 1668 North Anatolia Earthquake. However, it was the most devastating earthquake in the history of Turkey in terms of structural and geotechnical damage and fatalities caused by this. The objective of this article is to explore the aftermath of this major seismic event, with a particular focus on the following areas: (1) regional geology and seismotectonics background, along with geological field observations; (2) seismological context and analysis of strong ground motion records; (3) a summary of field reconnaissance findings; (4) an evaluation of residential structures, bridges, schools, hospitals, and places of worship, as well as, building foundations; (5) a study of soil and rock slopes, seismic soil liquefaction manifestations, rockfalls, earth dams, harbors, lifelines, ports, deep excavations, and retaining structures. The conclusions drawn herein are from the field reconnaissance and, therefore, are preliminary in nature. Subsequent research utilizing the gathered data will offer more comprehensive insights and definitive conclusions regarding the observations discussed.

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Data availability

As part of this paper, the authors have prepared a comprehensive spreadsheet detailing the sites visited, visit dates, and summary of observations. This valuable spreadsheet is provided as part of the supporting information for easy reference and examination.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the individuals who generously assisted our reconnaissance team during the earthquake fieldwork. Their invaluable contributions have significantly enhanced the quality and depth of our research. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the following individuals: Engin Aktas, Prof. at Izmir institute of Technology, Ibrahim Baran, building official at Nurdagi, Gaziantep, Ercan Acimis, owner of Sepas Plastik, Mehmet Kiliclar, owner of Hat Boru, Cem Firinci, Contractor at Antakya, Hatay, Emre Keten, Local Engineer at Gaziantep, Fahri Baran Koroglu, researcher at Gaziantep, Micheal, responsible person at churches at Hatay, and Hasan, responsible from demolishing of buildings. The success of our earthquake reconnaissance fieldwork and the completion of this study would not have been possible without the generous support and collaboration of these esteemed individuals. Their invaluable contributions have advanced our knowledge in the field of seismic assessment and have helped us fulfill our research objectives. The authors wish to express their deepest appreciation for the assistance provided by these individuals, whose dedication have greatly enriched this journal paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Platteville, WI, 53818, USA

    Gulen Ozkula

  2. Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA

    Robert K. Dowell

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Tugce Baser

  4. National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan

    Jui-Liang Lin & Cheng-Wei Huang

  5. Schnabel Engineering, Seattle, WA, 98188, USA

    Ozgun A. Numanoglu

  6. Department of Civil Engineering, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey

    Okan Ilhan

  7. Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA

    C. Guney Olgun

  8. Martin/Martin Engineering, Denver, Fort Collins, CO, 80525, USA

    Tunc Deniz Uludag

Authors
  1. Gulen Ozkula
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  2. Robert K. Dowell
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  3. Tugce Baser
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  4. Jui-Liang Lin
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  5. Ozgun A. Numanoglu
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  6. Okan Ilhan
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  7. C. Guney Olgun
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  8. Cheng-Wei Huang
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  9. Tunc Deniz Uludag
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the earthquake reconnaissance. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by GO, TB, RD, OI. The first draft of the manuscript was written by GO, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Authors mainly contributed to the following sections as described; Sect. 2. Strong motion data by OI; Sect. 3. Geotechnical findings by TB, OAN and CGO; Sect. 4. Performance of residential buildings by J-LL, C-WH and GO; Sect. 5. Performance of bridges by Robert K. Dowell; Sect. 6. Performance of Industrial buildings by GO and Sect. 7. Performance of critical structures by GO. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”

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Correspondence to Gulen Ozkula.

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Ozkula, G., Dowell, R.K., Baser, T. et al. Field reconnaissance and observations from the February 6, 2023, Turkey earthquake sequence. Nat Hazards 119, 663–700 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-06143-2

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