Özyeğin University Civil Engineering Department offers support for the damage assessment of industrial structures in the earthquake zone

Dr. Derya Deniz, a faculty member at the Department of Civil Engineering at Özyeğin University, and her research team made up of Gülşah Sağbaş, Ramin Sheikhi, and Kerem Sarıkaya took part in the TÜBİTAK 1002C-funded project to study the effects of the February 6 earthquakes on the industrial structures in the region.

Within the scope of the project “Performance and Damage Assessment of Industrial Structures Affected by the Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık and Elbistan-Centered Earthquakes that Struck on February 6, 2023, through Field Observations", the Özyeğin University team visited Organized Industrial Zones (OIZ) and industrial sites, which are critical for the region, to assess their damage and business continuity. To that end, the team carried out approximately 100 damage assessments in OIZs in Adana, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaraş (Türkoğlu, Onikisubat, Dulkadiroğlu), İskenderun, and Antakya. Serious damage has been observed on roofs and columns in the affected regions, where production still has not resumed or resumed with limited capacity. Similar observations were made for the industrial sites located in Nurdağı, Antakya, and Iskenderun.

It was determined that most factory equipment has also been significantly affected by the earthquakes, which consequently have a negative impact on business continuity. In view of this, it is expected that factories will take 3 months to 2 years to resume production at full capacity, depending on their current state of damage.

As part of the study, Derya Deniz and her team also identified some factories that had post-quake fires, revealing the importance of studying multi-disasters. These multi-disaster effects on the factories are also the subject of the TUBITAK 3501 Project, which Dr. Derya Deniz and her team are currently carrying out.

With this study, Özyeğin University strengthened its multi-layered aid and relief efforts in the earthquake zone. Similar efforts will continue to help redevelop the region and rebuild lives.