Seismic engineering consultants have identified {that a} very harmful phenomenon referred to as a “pancake crash,” wherein buildings collapse vertically, might have exacerbated the harm attributable to the earthquake in southern Turkey.
Koichi Kusunoki, a professor on the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo who has expertise conducting surveys in Turkey, commented on the harm to buildings attributable to the earthquake, saying, “Various buildings, ranging from low-rise to middle-rise buildings, have collapsed. Among them, pillars have lost their strength instantaneously. At some points, a very dangerous collapse called a ‘pancake crash’ occurs, where the entire building collapses to the bottom.”
Below is a picture of the “pancake crush” mechanism.
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