Author

KAPLAN, H.; BILGIN, H.; BINICI, H.; YILMAZ, S.; OZTAS A.
Epoka University, Civil Engineering Department

Abstract

The surface magnitude 6.3 L’Aquila earthquake which struck the L’Aquila area on April 6, 2009, damaged a large number of buildings, of nearly all construction types. Its epicentre was only 7 kilometres of north-west of the city. Officially, 306 died and 1500 were seriously injured. Approximately, 15000 buildings were severely destroyed or collapsed. These buildings were representative of construction types in form and structural system to those of the same vintage found across Europe. This study concentrates on the damage suffered by masonry buildings during this earthquake, and explains why the various types of observed failures happened. Examples of various damage types, as observed by the authors during the reconnaissance visit to the stricken area are presented, along with technically substantiated description of reasons for the damages.

Key words
L’Aquila earthquake, unreinforced masonry, historical buildings, failure, collapse