Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye

02/25/23

“Why did soft story buildings cause so much damage during the earthquake in Türkiye?”

Soft story buildings are prone to collapse and “pancake” during earthquakes. Despite Türkiye being prone to earthquake disasters, a very large percentage of its structures are soft stories. During the 1999 Izmit earthquake, it was recorded that nearly 85 – 90 percent of all damaged/collapsed buildings were soft story. Despite lessons learned from previous earthquakes, the Erdogan regime continued to build these structures in its infrastructure boom. When the 2023 earthquake came, these buildings caused tens of thousands of people to be trapped under heavy concrete. This is Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye.

Image credit bbc.co.uk

• Earth/Climate science
• Engineering
• Policy
• Urban Systems