On 6 February 2023, two destructive earthquakes (Mw 7.7 and Mw 7.6) struck the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş, causing widespread damage across 11 provinces in southern Türkiye near the Maraş Seismic Gap along the East Anatolian Fault System. Post-earthquake investigations indicate that the observed building damage resulted from the combined effects of strong seismic loading, structural deficiencies, and unfavorable local ground conditions. Therefore, soil liquefaction and earthquake-induced ground settlements are not considered the sole causes of structural collapse throughout the entire affected region; rather, their influence is evaluated in a site-specific manner, particularly in areas such as İskenderun and Adıyaman-Gölbaşı where soil conditions are highly prone to liquefaction. Field observations indicate that liquefaction-related deformations were concentrated in loose, saturated sandy and silty deposits with shallow groundwater levels. Soil samples from these zones were analyzed using SEM, EDX/EDAX, and XRD to characterize their microstructural and mineralogical properties, while strong-motion records from nearby stations were evaluated to relate seismic input to the observed ground failures. The results emphasize the necessity of site-specific geotechnical evaluations and integrated seismic risk assessments, avoiding generalized interpretations of damage mechanisms in large-scale earthquake events.
Pınar Sezin Öztürk Kardoğan (Wed,) studied this question.