Investigation of Structural Irregularities in Malatya Province After the February 6 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes in Turkey

Turkey is located on a seismically active region and expose to various earthquakes frequently that cause many lots of life and property. Turkey is situated on Anatolian Peninsula on the Alp Himalayan earthquake belt that is seismically active region in the world. As a result of the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that took place in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023, buildings were seriously destroyed in 11 provinces in Turkey. In the examinations carried out in the destruction areas after the earthquake, it was observed that there were structural irregularities in the buildings and that most of the buildings with these structural irregularities collapsed, while those that remained standing received moderate or severe damage. In this study, the reasons for the collapse of buildings in Malatya, one of the provinces most affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in Turkey, were examined through structural irregularities. The purpose of this research is to reveal significant factors which should be taken into consideration on the architectural design stage by investigating destroyed and heavily damaged buildings. It was obtained that the significant factors causing destruction or affecting earthquake performance of structures are: building geometry, structural configuration, inadequacy in the cross sections of structural members, heavy overhangs, rigidity and strength differences between floors, short columns, pounding effect. In the examination, it was determined that soft floors and torsional irregularities play an important role in building demolitions, since most buildings are not designed appropriately for the ground on which they are located.