How did the earthquake overturn the “pancake pattern” of buildings in Turkey? know what is the reason

Melbourne. Two major earthquakes have wreaked havoc in Turkey where more than 4,000 people have fallen asleep, thousands have been injured and many are still buried under the rubble. The first earthquake occurred near Gaziantep, near the Syrian border. This earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale was felt as far away as Great Britain. Nine hours later, Turkey was shaken by another earthquake whose intensity was 7.5 on the Richter scale. It seems that this earthquake happened due to the “intersection fault”. This situation occurs when one tectonic plate attempts to cover another.

According to the Turkish government, more than 3,450 buildings were razed in this devastation. Many of them were modern buildings, which were built based on the “pancake model” of the structure, but this model proved unsuccessful before the earthquake. Why did this happen? Was it due to the strong intensity of the earthquake or was there something wrong with these buildings? Earthquakes have been happening for thousands of years, not today. Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey because this country is located in a very sensitive area from the point of view of earthquakes. In an area where three tectonic plates are constantly rubbing against each other below the Earth’s surface. Turkey has been experiencing earthquakes for at least 2000 years.

Could the buildings be kept safe despite the earthquake?
Many cities were destroyed in this disaster in the 17th century. Earthquakes often occur in the area of ​​the “Eastern Anatolian Rift”, located at the boundary between the Arabian and Anatolian tectonic plates. These two plates are approaching at a rate of 6 to 10 mm each year. The tensile stress generated in this region gradually decreased due to intermittent earthquakes. This process took years and years. Given this, the recent earthquakes are not shocking. It is also evident that the infrastructure here is also under threat. Over the past 2,000 years, we have learned a great deal about constructing such buildings that will be safe in the event of geological movements. But it is also true that many factors affect the construction of buildings in this region and in other parts of the world.

Buildings could not tolerate lesser intensity tremors than “design code”
Lack of build quality is a well-known problem. It appears that many of the buildings that collapsed were made of concrete, without adequate earthquake reinforcement. Seismic codes for buildings in this area indicate that these buildings should have been strong enough to withstand strong earthquakes. These tremors are typically 30-40% greater than the normal gravity of the ground. It seems that due to earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5, the shaking rate was between 20 and 50% of gravity. These buildings could not even tolerate shaking less than the “design code”.

In 1999 and 2011, an earthquake also destroyed buildings, thousands of people died
Ensuring the construction of safe buildings and following proper “building codes” in view of earthquakes is a big issue in Turkey and different parts of the world. Whenever earthquakes have happened in Turkey in the past, buildings have collapsed in this way. In 1999, an earthquake near Izmit killed around 17,000 people and destroyed around 20,000 buildings. The 2011 earthquake killed hundreds of people. The then Turkish Prime Minister, Rajab Tayyab Erdoğan, then blamed the poor construction quality of the buildings for the high death toll. He said, “City agencies, contractors, inspectors should see that their negligence is the reason for this murder.

New regulations established in 2019 to make earthquake resistance
Turkish officials know that many buildings will not be able to withstand earthquakes, but this problem is beyond their solution. Many buildings have already been constructed and earthquake resistance measures may be costly or not considered a priority due to other socio-economic challenges. However, the reconstruction of these buildings can be an opportunity to make them safer. Turkey established new regulations in 2019 to make buildings earthquake resistant. These regulations have been welcomed, but it remains to be seen whether they will actually improve the quality of buildings.

A plan will be made regarding where what is to be built
Considering the way the earthquake damaged the infrastructure, the possibility of having considerable effects on the environment cannot be ruled out. Due to these effects, rebuilding buildings can also be dangerous in many places. Considering this, it is necessary to make planning decisions about where and what to build, so that the risk of risk can be reduced in the future. At present, aftershocks are occurring and search and rescue efforts are also underway. Once the system is back on track, the rebuild will begin. But will we see strong buildings that can withstand the next earthquake or other disaster in earthquake-prone Turkey?

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Tags: earthquake, Turkish