A team of structural and civil engineers from the United Kingdom is working tirelessly to gather geological data and conduct in-depth evaluations to determine why numerous buildings collapsed during a recent high-magnitude earthquake in Turkey. They are collaborating with their Turkish counterparts. Together, they have identified instances of poor construction practices, such as using large pebbles mixed in with the concrete, which diminishes its strength.
However, they also acknowledge that the immense force of the earthquake played a significant role in the destruction. In some areas, the ground movement was so intense that it surpassed the level that the buildings were originally designed to withstand.
Turkey is determined to get to the bottom of what happened during the recent earthquake and has launched a comprehensive investigation. The Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) spearheads the research, comprising top-notch industry experts and academics conducting assessments of major earthquakes for the past thirty years.
The team is working hand in hand with Turkish researchers and other structural engineers to understand the event comprehensively. They hope to use their collective findings to draw valuable lessons from the earthquake and devise new ways to make buildings stronger and more resilient in the face of future seismic activity.
Professor Emily So, director of the Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment and co-leader of the investigation, expressed,
“It’s important to get the full picture rather than just looking at a snapshot of a single asset or a single building,”
She added more,
“The successes of the buildings that are still intact and perform perfectly well are as important as the neighboring buildings that have collapsed. And actually having that distribution, having that overview, is really key to what we can learn from this earthquake.”
On the 6th of February, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southern Turkey near the Syrian border, unleashing powerful aftershocks that wreaked havoc on the region. Tragically, over 50,000 people lost their lives as buildings crumbled around them. In the aftermath of this disaster, there has been a sharp focus on building regulations and construction practices in Turkey, with many people questioning their adequacy.
Now, the EEFIT team is on a mission to conduct technical evaluations of the buildings in the area to assess their performance during the earthquake. They hope their findings will shed light on why so many buildings could not withstand the tremors and provide valuable insights into improving the resilience of buildings in future seismic events.
Some Reasons Behind Many Collapses
The team of engineers from Turkey, who are working alongside their colleagues, have identified several factors that contributed to the collapse of many buildings during the earthquake.
Larger Stone
One problem they discovered was the use of larger stones in the concrete. Samples taken from a collapsed building in Adiyaman revealed that 6cm-long stones from a nearby river had been used to bulk the concrete, weakening its strength.
Professor. So said,
“That has some serious implications on the strength of the concrete,”
Unrigged Steel Bars
The steel bars were used to reinforce the concrete, which were found to be smooth instead of ridged. This meant the concrete couldn’t grip onto the bars, further compromising the building’s structure.
Nature of Earthquake
The EEFIT team is also examining the nature of the earthquake. Dr. Yasemin Didem Aktas, co-leader of the expedition, noted that the earthquake was extremely powerful, and even the aftershocks were as large as a decent-sized earthquake. She explained that earthquakes typically cause ground movement horizontally and vertically, with the vertical component being lower than the horizontal movement. However, this earthquake recorded very high vertical accelerations as well.
Liquefaction
Some areas also experienced liquefaction, which transforms solid ground into a heavy fluid, similar to wet sand. This can cause buildings to topple over or sink.
Dr. Aktas added,
“I think the characteristics of the events also played a very important role in the devastation that we are seeing,”
According to the United Nations, the earthquake in Turkey has caused massive destruction, and the cost of clearing and rebuilding could exceed $100 billion. To avoid such worse situations, the EEFIT team plans to release their findings in the next few weeks, which could be used to set new building codes.
