On 6 February 2023, two significant seismic events occurred in the southeastern region of Türkiye. The seismic activity, which was perceptible in numerous countries beyond Türkiye, resulted in a considerable number of fatalities. A considerable number of individuals lost their lives and were rendered homeless as a result of the disaster. Two of the most significant factors contributing to the occurrence of these tragedies are the magnitude of the earthquake and structural deficiencies. The present study is concerned with a detailed analysis of these two factors. This study initially considers the seismicity of the region where the earthquakes that occurred on 6 February 2023 took place, as well as the seismic characteristics of these earthquakes. Subsequently, the findings of the field studies conducted in Hatay, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş and Malatya, the cities where the earthquakes caused the most destruction, are presented. The objective of the field study is to ascertain the collapse patterns, structural damages and the factors influencing these damages in reinforced concrete structures in the region. The primary causes of damage to structures can be attributed to several factors, including the presence of a strong beam-weak column mechanism, the soft story-weak story mechanism, the pounding effect, the short column damage, the long cantilever and overhangs, the short beam damage, the buckling damage, the torsion effect, the quality of the materials, the insufficient transverse reinforcement, the compressive failure due to over-reinforcement, the corrosion effect, the damage to reinforced concrete shear walls, the infill wall damage, and the damage caused by the soil and foundation system. These causes have been evaluated and recommendations have been formulated to prevent structural damage.

In this study, the historical Adana great clock tower's dynamic characteristics (natural frequencies and mode shapes) were determined using the operational modal analysis (OMA) method. The finite element model (FEM) of the Clock Tower was updated based on the experimentally obtained dynamic characteristics. The update process was performed manually using the material properties of the Clock Tower. Linear dynamic analyses of the structures under earthquake loadings were performed using its updated finite element model. The acceleration records of the 1998 Adana-Ceyhan earthquake, scaled according to the horizontal elastic design spectrum defined in TBEC (2018) were used for dynamic input. The displacements, maximum and minimum principal stresses of the Clock Tower were obtained and evaluated. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that there was a potential for damage to the Clock Tower due to exceeding the tensile strength of the walls, but the potential for damage to the Clock Tower due to exceeding the compressive strength of the walls is weak.