A Study on Damages in Masonry Structures and Determination of Damage Levels in the 2020 Sivrice (Elazig) Earthquake

Abstract

One of the main tectonic elements of Turkey is the Eastern Anatolian Fault zone. An earthquake with a magnitude of Mw = 6.8 on this fault on 20 January 2020 in Sivrice (Elazığ) district caused loss of life and property. Seismic parameters were obtained for the five closest earthquake station locations to the earthquake in the region, which is very active in terms of seismicity. The peak acceleration values predicted in the earthquake hazard map and codes were compared with the measured values. The measured acceleration values were considerably smaller than the acceleration values recommended for the building design. In this study, damage grading was also made depending on the damages in the masonry structures. Damage classification was actualized using the damage levels for masonry structures predicted in the European Macro-Seismic Scale (EMS). Information about the causes of damage in masonry structures and solution suggestions are given.