PERFORMANCE OF ESSENTIAL FACILITIES IN THE 2012 VARZAGHAN-AHAR EARTHQUAKES

On August 21st, 2012 two earthquakes struck the northern part of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran with a magnitude 6.2 and 6.0. The earthquake affected three medium-size city centers; Varzaghan, Ahar and Heris. Most essential facilities in the stricken area had suffered minor or moderate structural damages combined with major non-structural ones. Facilities such as hospitals, gas and water systems, electricity network, and important governmental operation centers were damaged in these earthquakes. The major nonstructural failure modes involved cracking and collapse of infill walls, separation of facades from back walls, and failure of suspended ceilings. Damage to exterior architectural elements and overturning of medical equipments were also observed in these events. Based on the experience gained from these events, it can be concluded that functionality of a given facility is highly dependent upon the performance of both the building structural system and the non-structural elements.