Evaluation of seismic safety of existing reinforced concrete buildings in western region of Turkey

Abstract

Turkey is one of the most earthquake-prone countries. In 1999, two major earthquakes hit the northwestern region of Turkey and damaged or destroyed many buildings. The damaged building types are typical and can be encountered all over the country. Western region of Turkey is also known to be an active seismic zone with its complex tectonic setting. Accordingly, seismic safety of the buildings in this region also is of concern. In the current study, seismic safety of existing reinforced concrete buildings in western region of Turkey is investigated in detail through various approaches. Probabilistic seismic hazard estimates are used to establish the seismic hazard level in the region and compared with currently enforced seismic zonation maps. Nonlinear dynamic analyses are made to estimate the seismic vulnerability of various types of representative buildings. Results indicate that the majority of the existing reinforced concrete buildings in western region of Turkey are vulnerable to damage during expected future earthquakes.