Performance of Masonry Stone Buildings during the March 25 and 28, 2004 Aşkale (Erzurum) Earthquakes in Turkey

This paper reviews the performance of stone masonry buildings during the March 25 and 28, 2004, Aşkale (Erzurum) earthquakes. Aşkale is a township located 35km from Erzurum city in Turkey. A majority of the buildings in the affected region are built in masonry. Most of the masonry buildings were formed with random or coursed stone walls without any reinforcement supporting heavy clay tile roofing over wooden logs. A large number of such buildings were heavily damaged or collapsed. The cracking and failure patterns of the buildings are examined and interpreted relative to current provisions for earthquake resistance of masonry structures. The damages are due to several reasons such as site effect, location, and length of the fault, and the poor construction quality of the buildings. In addition to these reasons, the two earthquakes hit the buildings within three days, causing progressive damage. Low strength stone masonry buildings with mud mortar are weak against earthquakes, and should be avoided in high seismic zones.