Damages of masonry buildings during the July 2, 2004 Doğubayazıt (Ağrı) earthquake in Turkey

The dynamic response of masonry stone buildings during the July 2, 2004, Doğubayazıt (Ağrı) earthquake, Doğubayazıt is a township of about 35 km from Ağrı city in Turkey, is discussed. A majority of the buildings have been built as masonry in the affected region. Most of the masonry buildings were formed with random or coursed stone walls without any reinforcement and heavy clay tile roofing supported on wooden logs. A large number of such buildings were heavily damaged or collapsed. The cracking and failure patterns of the buildings have been examined and explained in detail. The damages are due to several reasons such as site effect, location and length of the fault, and the poor quality of the buildings.