STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING INDUSTRIAL RESILIENCE AFTER THE 2023 KAHRAMANMARAS, TURKEY EARTHQUAKES

The earthquakes on February 6th, 2023, with moment magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 have devastated southeast Turkey, affecting more than 11 cities. Field reconnaissance revealed that the disaster not only affected urban areas but also resulted in substantial damage to industrial zones, causing economic losses and hindered the region's recovery, given its strong dependence on local industries. The majority of industrial facilities in the region that have suffered damage or collapse were constructed using prefabricated structures designed and implemented in accordance with older seismic regulations. The observed damages extend beyond the structural systems of such buildings – substantial damage and losses are caused due to the failure of non-structural components, including cladding, machinery, and equipment. This has caused noteworthy interruptions in both the production process and the supply chain. Within the scope of this paper, the most commonly observed damages in industrial facilities and their underlying causes are discussed. Some easy-to-implement suggestions are provided to enhance the seismic performance of the most widespread type of existing industrial buildings and a showcase retrofit project of an industrial building that implements proposed retrofitting methods is demonstrated. Additionally, some of the ongoing or recently completed innovative retrofitting methods such as damper retrofit for industrial buildings in Turkey is presented.