What is to be learned from damage and failure of reinforced concrete structures during recent earthquakes in Turkey?

In Turkey, generally, building stock is formed from reinforced concrete structures and during last earthquakes, a large number of these buildings in the epicenter regions were collapsed leading to widespread destruction and loss of life. In this paper, the performance of reinforced concrete buildings during recent earthquakes in Turkey is discussed. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief overview of damage as observed following the earthquakes. The failure modes consist of foundation failures, soft stories, strong beams and weak columns, lack of column confinement, poor detailing practice and non-structural damages. Observations from the earthquake damages are discussed and compared with TEC-98 (Turkish Earthquake Code) and TBC-500-2000 (Turkish Building Code) requirements. Measurements of some damaged reinforced concrete member examples are given and important general lessons learned from these earthquakes are formulated. Finally, a short overview of the emergency management measures taken is also presented.