Geotechnical aspects of February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaras-Turkiye earthquake sequence.

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Abstract

On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes, with moment magnitudes of M7.8 and M7.6, struck the East Anatolian Fault zone in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. The seismic events occurred at local times 04:17 and 13:24, resulting in significant damage to the built environment. The affected area spanned 450 km by 100 km, impacting over 15 million residents. The most severely affected cities include Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Hatay, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Adana, and Elazığ. The total number of casualties surpassed 50,000. The presentation highlights the finding of geotechnical reconnaissance studies performed after the earthquakes. The discussions will concentrate on the evaluations of hydraulic structures, foundations, retaining structures, tunnels, and lifelines. Additionally, the geohazards including but not limited to landslides, rockfalls, seismic soil liquefaction, and induced ground deformations are addressed.

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Short Curriculum

Kemal Onder Cetin is professor of Geotechnics and Earthquake Engineering at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkiye. He earned his M.S. and Ph. D. studies at University of California at Berkeley, U.S.A.  In addition to his involvement in research projects in the areas of experimental and theoretical soil mechanics, foundation and earthquake engineering. Cetin has served as a geotechnical and earthquake engineering consultant in a number of national and international mega projects including Istanbul Marmaray Submerged Tunnel, Istanbul Canal, Gebze-İzmir Motorway Project, Ankara-Istanbul Rapid Rail Project, Istanbul-Ankara-Izmir Metro Lines, Warsaw-Poland Metro Line, Efeler Geo-thermal Power Plant, Yemen-Sayut Nishtun Highway Tunnel, Kazan Soda Facility, Alpaslan II HEPP, Oman-Duqm Port, Turkmenbashi International Seaport, Akkuyu and Sinop Nuclear Power Plants. He is the author of over 500 technical publications including technical manuscripts, book chapters, and reports. The manuscript, which presents his proposed liquefaction triggering relationship, received the “Thomas A. Middlebrooks Outstanding Professional Accomplishment Award” offered by ASCE Geo-Institute in year 2006.