GSTF Journal of Geological Sciences, vol.1, no.1, pp.56-62, 2013 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
The Erciş-Van earthquake with magnitude Mw: 7.2 that struck at 13:41 local time on Sunday, October 23, 2011 in northern part of Van province, affected an area of about 13.500 square kilometer at the Eastern Turkey. After several days from the Erciş- Van earthquake, another quake with magnitude Mw: 5.6 occurred on November 9, 2011 at am 21:23 local time in southwest of the city centre of Van province. Thousands of aftershocks, many in the magnitude 4.0 to 5.0 range, occurred during the next few months. This investigation describes the effects of the aforementioned earthquakes on structural damage. In the first part, ground motion parameters and ground deformations during earthquakes were presented. The second part deals with the local site conditions of affected settlement areas. In the last part, the attention is focused on the effect of soil conditions on structural damage.