EngineeringStruetures,Vol. 19, No. 7, pp.

594 602, 1997

© 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd
All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain

ELSEVIER
PII: S0141-0296(96)00116-2 0141-0296/97 $17.00 + 0.00

A report on Dinar earthquake of 1

October 1995, and response
spectra
Hikmet Hiiseyin (~atai
Dokuz Eylfil UniversiO,, Civil Engineering Department, Engineering Facul~_, 35100,
Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
(Received October 1996)

The town of Dinar is located in the south-west Anatolian region

and on the 38.06 longitude and 30.15 latitude. An earthquake of
magnitude Ms= 6.1 occurred on the 1st October 1995 at
5:57:18 p.m. local time, causing causalities and extensive damage
to buildings in Dinar. The main reason why the structural damage
was so heavy was due to the construction errors, and the down-
town area being built on alluvial soils. The earthquake forces dur-
ing the main shock were amplified by the poor dynamic character-
istics of these soils thus resulting in excessive damage to buildings.
A few days after the main shock, investigations started to deter-
mine the damage to the structures, and to identify design and con-
struction errors. The response spectra of the main shock are calcu-
lated and the relationship between the strong ground motion and
structural damage are determined. The aim of this study is to deter-
mine earthquake characteristics and soil properties in the vicinity
of Dinar, to calculate the response spectra, and to present the
results of field observations, office studies and records of the earth-
quake of 1 October 1995. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.

Keywords: Dinar earthquake of 1 October 1995, response spectra,

construction errors

1. Introduction
Earthquakes are natural disasters that occur suddenly. A
procedure to foresee the occurrence of earthquakes is not
as yet available; hence, to design and construct earthquake
resistant buildings is obligatory.
An earthquake occurred on 1 October 1995 in Dinar and
approximately 3000 buildings were destroyed and 90
people died. Dinar is located between Afyon and Burdur
on the main highway to Antalya in the south and is one of
the subdistrict centres of the province of Afyon. The centre
of the town of Dinar is located partly on the hills extending
in the northwest-southeast direction. Commercial and
government buildings are located on alluvial soil and this
alluvial soil zone extends southwest below the hills. Two
strong shocks occurred earlier this century at Dinar. The
first of these (M, = 6.9, Io = IX) took place on 3 October
1914, and approximately 17 000 buildings were destroyed
and 4000 people died. The second (Ms = 5.9, Io = VIII)
occurred on 7 August 1925 when approximately 2500
buildings were destroyed and 300 people died ~. The author
visited Dinar twice, on 6 October 1995 and on 22 October
1995, and was able to observe, record and measure the
effects of the quake. A large number of pictures were taken
to better identify the damage.
2. Population and physical geography of the
earthquake region
Dinar is located in the south-west Anatolia region, between
the 3 8 - 3 9 north parallels. Dinar has a history going back
to about 1200 BC. In the 8th century King Midas made
Dinar the capital of his kingdom.
The population of Dinar was recorded as 35 000 people
from the last census (1990), but after the earthquake of 1
October 1995, migration from Dinar started, and the popu-
lation decreased to a m e r e l 0 000.
There are many lakes of various sizes in the area, but
most of these lakes are small. A m o n g these, Burdur Lake,
located at an elevation of 845 m to the south, Acl Lake to

594
D i n a r earthquake o f 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal 595

Table 2 Soil profiles in Dinar region

Place Dumankry Place G0m0§su

Depth (cm) Soil type Depth (cm) Soil type

0-200 Natural soil 0-200 Natural soil

200-600 Clay 200-400 Sand
600-1200 Clay/marl 400-700 Clay
1200-1600 Turf 700-1200 Gravel
1600-4100 Clay 1200J1400 Clay
4100-4300 Turf 1400-1900 Gravel
4300-4600 Clay 1900-2800 Gravel/clay
4600-5000 Clay 2800-3200 Gravel
5000-5400 Clay 3200-5400 Gravel/clay

where:N is the total number of earthquakes with magnitude

larger than M or equal to M, M is the smallest magnitude
considered and a, b are regression constants. For the Dinar
region, it was assumed that the maximum magnitude was
7.4 and the minimum magnitude was 4.0. With this
assumption a and b were calculated as 6.31 and 0.85,
respectively. For the Dinar region, the mean return period
of an earthquake of magnitude 5 is calculated as 63 years 4.
Figuro 1 Geographic map of Dinar and its environs Dinar is in the Lakes region with Hors-Graben system.
In this system, Civril, Aclg61, Burdur, Karadilli, Senirkent-
Hoyran Grabens are in the northeast-southwest direction;
the west, Karakuyu and Egridir Lakes to the east, and Islkh Aksehir, Beysehir, Dinar Grabens are in northwest-south-
Lake to the northwest are the major ones. The elevation of west direction; Dombayova, Egridir Lake-Kovada Grabens
Dinar varies between 860 and 950 m. A general geographic are in north-south direction. In the region faults, Graben
map of the region is shown in Figure 1. A schematic plan systems and the geological cross-sections of this region are
of Dinar is given in Figure 2 and some important buildings given in Figure 35 .
are indicated on the plan. Even though the surface geology of the hills to the east
of Dinar consists of marl and schist the centrum of Dinar
is located on the alluvial deposits carded by the Btiytik
3. Earthquake characteristics and soil Menderes river, and these alluvial deposits reach 150-
formation of the area 200 m in depth. The soil profiles of D u m a n k r y (15 km
Dinar is located in a first-degree hazard zone of the earth- northwest of Dinar) and Gtimtiskry (25 km northwest of
quake hazard zone map of Turkey. A list of historical earth-
quakes which have caused damage in or around Dinar is Table 3 Earthquakes occurring between 26 September and 4
given in Table 12 . October in Dinar region
The fault zones of Aegean and Cyprus intersect around
Dinar. Young faults in this region are located at the edge Coordinates
of the Menderes and Gediz valleys at the east of Sultan Time Depth
Mountains. In a given area, the recurrence relation between Date (GTM) Latitude Longitude (cm) Ms
magnitude and frequency of earthquake occurrence can be
expressed by 3 26 September 199514:58:09.99 38.10 N 29.82 E 2000 4.7
15:09:17.38 38.21 N 30.19 E 1000 3.7
15:18:27.38 38.20 N 30.19 E 1100 4.2
logN = a - b M ( 1) 27 September 199513:03:57.89 38.11 N 29.91 E 1000 3.5
14:15:59.06 38.17 N 29.96 E 3000 4.7
Table I List of recent earth- 14:26:34.52 38.03 N 30.39 E 1900 3.8
quakes in Dinar 28 September 199513:26:41.05 38.40 N 30.34 E 5000 4.0
1 October 1995 15:57:17.44 38.18 N 30.02 E 2400 6.1
16:21:30.39 37.81 N 30.30 E 1000 3.8
Date M~ 17:47:07.09 38.14 N 30.20 E 1200 3.7
18:03:00.07 38.24 N 30.03 E 2000 5.0
1900 6.1 18:23:06.00 38.29 N 30.11 E 1100 4.0
1914 6.9 2 October 1 9 9 5 02:04:10.12 38.11 N 29.90 E 1100 3.6
1918 5.4 08:28:31.34 38.20 N 30.22 E 1000 3.5
1925 5.9 14:59:39.17 38.11 N 29.90 E 1100 4.0
1927 5.2 19:54:10.55 37.80 N 30.32 E 1100 4.0
1928 5.0 3 October 1 9 9 5 07:38:11.81 37.96 N 29.98 E 1000 4.4
1963 5.5 11:42:31.10 37.81 N 30.29 E 1000 3.8
1965 5.7 23:33:57.79 37.90 N 30.43 E 900 3.6
1971 6.2 4 October 1 9 9 5 19:27:05.46 38.11 N 29.92 E 1000 3.9
596 Dinar earthquake of 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal

IMPORTANT BUB~INGS
1.State Hospital
2.Atat0rk Primary School
3.DOrtyol Mosque
4.H0rriyet Primary School
5.Sanayii Mosque
6.Fatih Mosque
7.Dinar High School
8.Dinar Junior HighSchool
9.Yeniyol Primary School
10.Municipality Building
11.Governer's Office
12.Su~akan Park
13.Konak Mosque
14.Y.Emre Primary School
15.Pmarba~l Mosque
16.First Aid Center
17.Powerhouse
18.Police Court
19.Post Office
20.Gendarme
21.Stadium
22.Traffic Station

NEIGHBORHOODS
1.Camiikebir
2.Adliye
3..Emniyet
4.I.stasyon
5.Itfaiye
6.Pazar
7.0~lerce
8.Ihca
9.Konak
10,16.Santral
11.Sanayii
12.Yeni
13.H0rriyet
14.Pancar
15.D0rtyol
17.Altml§evler
18.Pmarbas§l
19.Tekke
20.Su~lkan
21.Dere
Figure2 Plan of Dinar

Dinar) were obtained by Tankut et al. 6 and are given in
Table 2.
4. Seismic records of the earthquake o f 1
October 1995
Seismic records of the 1995 Dinar earthquake have been
obtained by a kinematic SMA-I type accelograph located
at the meterology station in Dinar. This accelograph has
recorded the north-south, east-west and vertical compo-
nents of the ground earthquake motion. The Dinar meteoro-
logical station is one-storey high and is located on alluvial
soil. The 1995 Dinar earthquake began with primary shocks
on 26 September. The main shock occurred on 1 October.
The main shock had an epicentre essentially right under
Dinar and from the strong motion data, the depth is calcu-
lated to be less than 20 km 2. Earthquakes that occurred after
and before the main shock are given in Table 36.
Corrected digital accelerations in three directions of the
strong ground motion of Dinar earthquake were obtained
from Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Insti-
tute.
Acceleration-time graphs are drawn using the PITSA
computer program v (see Figure4). Additional velocity-
time graphs in the north-south, east-west and vertical direc-
tions are given in Figure 5. Displacement-time graphs in
these three directions are given in Figure 6.
The corrected strong ground acceleration graphs
(Figure 4) of the main shock indicate horizontal PGA lev-
els of 274.6 gal in the north-south direction, 320.2 gal in the
east-west direction and 128.6 gal in the vertical direction.
5. Response spectra of the 1995 Dinar
earthquake
The acceleration, velocity and displacement response spec-
tra of the 1995 Dinar earthquake in the east-west direction
 Dinar earthquake of 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal 597

30" 31"

I / I 38"50"

S:7: :'~
.,:.: : ?..:;: ~
A~,.. ~,
f~¢lt~ t: r ; "+
lyriC':

, :;::..:.:. ' .:..~" .. 'iv .: :i."."...!

.. ,¢, " ":.',.: -38"

37" 30'

Graben of
Graben of Aclg61 r.-..-.:,] Dombl ova
Grabcn of Cirri, .... Graben °f Burdur G ( aben
~ m of.
b aDrear
y• o v a raben
r of /~1 t~.

"1 ,~--~t ,,.~, ~-~ a' IA" aL ~ ~ I~ ~,i=

Figure3 Lakes region Hors-Graben systems and geological cross-sections

I I Illl 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I•m.4tl
llil-lll i I I I I jr i It I / I I ! I I I i i i I i i I i I i I I I

--IT4.&
O.O 5.O lO.O lS.O II.0 15.U - ' - I i ~ i i 1 I/.I I I l i / I I
TIN[ llill • 5.1 ll.I 15,1 il.I lS.i
lr II¢lt [meel
Ill-It I I I l l I I I I I I I I I/ I I 11 I I I I I I I I
~.Sl I I I I I I 1 I I 1 I I 1 I I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I
N
C
"~b

-llO.II I I I|1 I I I I ] I I I I I I I I I I I I [ I I I [ I
I.I I,I il,I ll,i lll,i l~.l
i 1114Z Ileal • S,I 21.1 iS.I lli,I ll,I
Ill Iseol
"""1'/il'''' '1''"'''"''"'''"'1 u,i4l' i I I I I i I Itl I l/Ill I I I I I I I I I I I I I
c
C

-lil,il I 111 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I
I.O S.I lO.O 2S.I II.I IS.I -ltl. S&l 1 I I I I I I III I 1 l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
IliE liill i.ll ~.l il.I is.I ll.i Is.I
llNI Ileal
Figure 4 Corrected strong ground acceleration-time graphs:
Figure5 Corrected strong ground velocity-time graphs: (a)
(a) north-south; (b) east-west; (c) vertical north-south; (b) east-west; (c) vertical

are calculated using the corrected strong ground acceler- exposed to less forces than three-, four- and five-storey high
ations of the main shock in this direction. The acceleration buildings. This explains why one- and two-storey high
response spectrum graph is given in Figure 7, the velocity buildings suffered less structural damages in Dinar.
response spectrum graph is given in Figure 8, and the dis-
placement response spectrum graph is given in Figure 9 8,9.
The acceleration time histories of structures with periods 6. Structural damage
of 0.07, 0.14, 0.21, 0.28, 0.35, 0.42, 0.49, 0.56 and 5% The buildings in Dinar town centre range from one- to six-
damping, representative of buildings between one- and storeys. Buildings varying from two to six storeys were
eight-storeys high, are given in Figure 10, in order to deter- reinforced concrete frame structures. Most of the reinforced
mine how long these structures were exposed to strong concrete buildings ranging from three to five storeys col-
ground acceleration. The time histories in Figure 10 reveal lapsed. Few reinforced concrete buildings of one- to two-
that one- and two-storey high buildings were exposed to storeys, however, collapsed. The stone masonry two-storey
less force than three-, four- and five-storey high buildings. township building and the five-storey reinforced concrete
Similarly, seven- and eight-storey high buildings were Post-Office building were badly damaged. The three-storey
598 Dinar earthquake o f 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal
~l,=t4| I I I 1 I I I)~1 I A I I I I f I f I I.I 1 I I I I I I| O (era.)
100

00
-6.,I~21 I I I I I I | | "1 I | • I I I I I I'dl I I I I I I I I I
0.0 S.O lO.a J.~l. II 20.0 ZS.O
Irl~ (loci
t.Stll U I I .lfll U I I I I I I 1 1 IJ I I 1 I U I I I I I In 00

-~P,~3D41 I I tJl I I I I 1 I I I I I I ~1 I I I I I I I r 1 I I I I
O , O ~,0 10.0 IS.O I10.0 ITS.0
TIN~ [~eo)
s,o19 I I I I [ I I I i i I .,Irll I i i [ ] I I I I I l I I I !

o ................... i ...................
1
r ...................
2
"r(.)
- : 1 . O~L3
0.0 S.O 10.11 /.5.0 30.0 Z$.O Figure9 Displacement response spectrum in east-west direc-
TI~ (semi tion
Figure 6 Corrected strong ground displacements-time graphs:
(a) north-south; (b) east-west; (c) vertical
sl,=s~

"n,',~lll
• ,..al~i (z> stori¢s
v.
151 49
5t?,41
IKdL,..L.~,d~..L,Idlb.Jl, ,.,u, ...~L .. (=> s t o r i;ts

-6~6.Sl

2,500 "

~ <s) stories

2,000- ~ -'|l:l; . :.'. :. : _: : . : : : ~ n n i ~ ~ i i ~ n i i i u

~ ~ (6) stori£s
- e l , . 7 , . ' I;':ll'lflV " " " '" I I I I I I I i I
1,500- / § -0.00 (~> s t o r i £ s
0,~0.02 ,OF 5 4
6~6.9S ~ i . . . . . . . i
g 0.O6 (0> .fi, t o ¢ i £ S
-6ZS,~
1,000
500-- .~ ,., ',:, . . . . ~ . ; ' ' ','.; ' ' 'z;.; ' ' ','.,'
T I Iq.E I[ s e o ]

FigUre 10 Acceleration response-time graphs for multistorey

reinforced concrete building in Dinar in east-west direction
0 ................... i ................... i .................. T(s)
o 1 2
Figure 7 Acceleration response spectrum in east-west direc-
tion
Table 4 Damage distribution of 1 October 1995 Dinar earth-
quake in government buildings

Degree of damage
~cr./.)
Collapse and
heavy Slight Moderate No
Town damage damage damage damage

~ ~ ~ /--- |:o.oo Dinar 7 1 7 25

Ba~;mak(~n - 1 10
:.o°:." Evciler 1 - 7 7
Kuzd6ren - - - 7
Dazkm - - 1 22

11111.

reinforced concrete Police Station completely collapsed.

T(a) The five-storey reinforced concrete Dinar High School did
1 2 3 not collapsed, but suffered heavy damage. The third storey
of the four-storey reinforced concrete Courthouse Lodging
Figure8 Velocity response spectrum in east-west direction collapsed, and the building was badly damaged. The four
storeys reinforced concrete State Hospital was moderately
damaged. The structural damage determined by the Afyon
 Dinar earthquake o f 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal
Figure 11 Soft floor
Figure 12 Ruptured column end, top of column in soft floor
Directorship of Housing and Building is summarized in
Table 4.
7. Defects of damaged reinforced concrete
buildings
Due to the effects of torsional moments in the nonsym-
metrical buildings, the structural systems of this type build-
ings were heavily damaged.
In Dinar, to increase the useable area of ground floors,
many buildings' partition walls between the frames were
not constructed. Thus, soft floors were created in such
buildings, and this gave rise to the hinging of the end of
the columns in the soft floors due to the increased bending
599
moments. A typical soft floor at a damaged building in
Dinar is shown in Figure 11; in addition the rupture column
ends in this floor are seen in Figures 12 and 13. These rup-
tured column ends reduced the stability of the structures
and eventually led to the collapse.
In Dinar, storeys added later to the top of the buildings
caused heavy damage. The damage to the neighbouring
buildings caused by a storey added later can be seen in
Figure 14.
The existence of stairway landings at the midfloor levels
created short columns. In addition, beams constructed to
support window frames around the perimeter of the build-
ings caused the same effect. Since the shear forces in the
columns are equal to the magnitude of the end moments
600
Figure 13 Ruptured column end, bottom of column in soft floor
Figure 14 Storey added later on neighbouring building
Dinar earthquake of 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal
divided by the height of the columns, shear forces in the
short columns observed at Dinar High School can be seen
in Figure 15.
Generally, the columns of the damaged buildings are
slender and the column cross-section dimensions are
smaller than the minimum column section dimensions
required by the Turkish earthquake code. In Dinar, the slen-
der column-strong beam application is extensive. In such
buildings, the lateral displacements of the structural system
are increased, thus hinges were created at such c o l u m n -
beam connection joints. An example of a slender column-
strong beam application in Dinar can be seen in Figure 16.
It was observed that the quality of concrete was low and
the splice lengths of steel were generally insufficient. For
example, there were no stirrups at a corner column footing
joint of Dinar Courthouse. A column stirrup spacing of
50 cm was measured at Dinar Courthouse. This c o l u m n -
footing joint can be seen in Figure 17.
8. Conclusions and recommendations
The town of Dinar is located on active faults. Because the
soil to the north of Dinar is strong, the structural damage
is moderate in this region. However, the damage caused by
the earthquake was amplified in the alluvial region. Design
and construction errors, such as improper detailing of the
column-beam joints, the employment of improper struc-
tural systems, and the use of low quality (low strength)
concrete were contributing factors to the damage caused by
the earthquake. During the Dinar earthquake, 3000 build-
ings were demolished and 90 people were killed. Due to
primary shock, people were alerted and thus loss of life
was low.
Though only eight government buildings were heavily
damaged, many reinforced concrete local buildings, which
were not properly constructed following the earthquake
code, were completely demolished. Rules and regulations
for the design and construction of earthquake resistant
structures are found in the Turkish standards and codes.
Dinar earthquake o f 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal
Figure 15 Damaged short column, Dinar High School
Figure 16 Failure of slender column-strong beam design
Although these standards were effective by 1975, they were
obviously not followed strictly as observed by the heavy
damages occurred to the buildings constructed after 1975.
In Dinar, heavy structural damages occurred in the three-
to five-storey reinforced concrete buildings with a natural
period of 0.21-0.35 s. In the review of the main shock
response spectra, these buildings were found to be acted
upon by higher magnitudes of ground acceleration
(Figure 10). This finding explains the heavier damage
which occurred in the three- to five-storey reinforced con-
crete buildings.
Although they arrived at the earthquake area on time, it
601
is believed that the emergency and rescue operations after
the earthquake were not adequate.
Some general recommendations can be made from the
observations, calculations and determinations in Dinar.
These recommendations are as follows.
(1) Dinar fault line became active during the Dinar earth-
quake of 1 October 1995. The seismicity of the fault
line should be instrumented for future activity.
(2) Residential areas must be selected such that homes are
built on ground far away from the fault line so as not
to amplify the effects of a possible earthquake.
602
Figure 17 insufficient stirrups at corner column footing joint of
Dinar Courthouse
(3) Design and construction in conformity with Turkish
standards and codes should be enforced.
(4) Construction of short-columns and soft floors is to be
Dinar earthquake of 1 October 1995: H. H. ~atal
avoided. In the design phase the importance of the
choice of the proper structural system should be
emphasized.
(5) The stirrup spacing must be between 5-10 cm at the
column beam connection joints.
(6) During construction local workers should be used as
much as possible. This will enable the people to learn
the techniques of building better earthquake resistant
structures.
(7) The use of high-quality high-strength concrete should
be enforced.
(8) The correct and complete fault map of Turkey must
be prepared.
(9) In highly populated residential areas, the safety of the
existing buildings to a probable earthquake should be
evaluated; earthquake rescue scenarios to be followed
during and after an earthquake should be plotted.
References
1 'lst. October 1995 Dinar (Turkey) earthquake (M, = 6.1 ) Reconnais-
sance report', Bogazi~i University, Kandilli Observatory and Earth-
quake Research Institute, Istanbul, 1995
:2 Ketin, I. 'Tectonic units of Anatolia', M.T.A. Dergisi Sayl: 66, s: 23-
34, Ankara, 1966
3 Richter, C.F. Elementary seismology, W.H. Freeman and Co., San
Francisco, 1958
4 Yllmaztfirk, A , Kenar, O., 'G611er B61gesinin depremselli~i',
Deprem araftirma BUheni, No: 55, Ankara, Turkey, 1986
.5 Ko~:yi~it, A. 'Gtineybatl Ttirkiye ve Yakm Dolaymda Levha i~i Yeni
Tektonik Geli~im.', Tiirkiye Jeoloji Karumu Biilteni. Say1:27,
sayfa: 1-16, Ankara, Turkey, 1984
6 Tankut, T., Ersoy, U., Ko~yi~jt, A , .Wasti, T. and Ural, D. '1. Ekim.
1995 Dinar Depremi' TUBITAK In~aat Teknolojileri Ara~tlrma
Gurubu, Ankara, Turkey, 199.5
7 PITSA, Meta Window/Plus<DOS, Version 3,4.B. Scherbaum, F. and
Johnson, J. 'Programmable Interactive Turbox for analysis, IASPEI,
Software Library V91 5, 1992
8 Ohsaki Y. and (~ev:Ipek, M. 'Deprem Dalgab'mlm Spektral A..nalizine
Giri~', Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers, Istanbul Office, Istanbul,
Turkey, 1991
9 Clough, R. W. and Penizen, J. Dynamics of structures, McGraw Hill,
New York, 1975