Earthquake Reconnaissance Report:
The February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş,
Türkiye Earthquake Sequence

Under the auspices of the Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering and Seismology / Sous les auspices de l’Association Canadienne du Génie Parasismique et de la Sismologie

On February 6, 2023, two devastating earthquakes struck southeastern Türkiye, with epicenters in Pazarcık (Mw 7.7; focal depth: 8.6 km) and Elbistan (Mw 7.6; focal depth: 7 km) districts of Kahramanmaraş province, occurring at 04:17 and 13:24 local time, respectively. These events were followed by a Mw 6.4 earthquake on February 20, centered in Yayladağı, Hatay. Over 35,000 aftershocks were recorded in the region by May 6, 2023, making this earthquake sequence one of the most significant in recent history in terms of magnitude, extent, and destruction.

Following the disaster, faculty members from the Department of Civil Engineering of The
University of British Columbia organized a 12-member reconnaissance team comprised of academics, researchers, consulting engineers, and professional organizations from Canada, Türkiye, Italy and Serbia to assess the impact of these catastrophic earthquakes. The team visited the most affected cities, including Gaziantep, Nurdağı, Islahiye, Hassa, Kırıkhan, Antakya, Bahçe, Osmaniye, Dörtyol, İskenderun, Pazarcık, Gölbaşı, Adıyaman, Elbistan, Malatya, and Kahramanmaraş. Their investigations covered a range of topics related to these earthquakes and their consequences, including seismological and geotechnical effects, design codes and practices, performance of residential buildings, schools, heritage structures, healthcare facilities, lifelines, earthquake response and recovery. Based on the lessons learned during the reconnaissance visit the team members provided recommendations for enhancing resilience of
the built environment from future earthquake events in Türkiye.