Determination of structural damage intensity level in Ercişrural district in October 2011 Van earthquake

Turkey locates in an active seismic zone and the inadequacy of existing building stock, causing heavy losses of life and property in earthquakes. These losses occur not only in urban areas, but also in rural areas. According to DİE (State Institute of Statistic) in 2012 % 25,4 of the population in Turkey are known to live in rural areas. This ratio decreased to % 7.7 in 2018. Rural buildings are constructed by traditional methods and not engineering services due to economic conditions. Most of the buildings, which are generally built in rural areas and are still being built, differ depending on the socio-economic situation of the region. When the properties of the structures in the region are examined, it is seen that they are generally composed of masonry, carcass and masonry-carcass and hybrid structures. In this study, structural damage intensity scale is proposed for masonry structures in rural areas. As a result of the earthquake which was based in a village called Tabanlı in Van in October 2011, due to the intensive damage of Erciş rural district, 84 villages in the district are categorized in 4 groups like; undamaged, poorly damaged, moderately damaged and severely damaged / demolished then a structural damage intensity scale proposal is presented for the region. Structural damage intensity scale proposal and the intensity map published by the Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory for the region are compared to evaluate the soil condition, building stock and applied engineering methods in the region.