## 4 Discussion  
### Discussion on Concentration of Near-Fault Strong Ground Motions  
The presence of ample seismic damage data suggests that regions located near fault lines tend to experience the most extensive and severe damage [30]. Research conducted on significant earthquakes, such as the Chi-Chi Earthquake, Chilean Earthquake, Wenchuan  
Figure 9: Isoline Map of PGA for the 2023 Turkey Earthquake (Mw7.8). (This map illustrates the distribution of peak ground acceleration observed in this earthquake with a contour interval of 100 mm/s\({}^{2}\). (**a–c**) are the isopleth maps of peak ground acceleration corresponding to the east–west component, the north–south component, and the vertical component, respectively. The blue lines represent the segments of the East Anatolian fault that ruptured during the earthquake, as well as some adjacent segments that did not rupture but are considered active. The surface rupture is taken from AFAD (2023) ”Preliminary Evaluation Report on 6 February 2023 Pazarcik (Kahramanmaras) Mw 7.7 Elbistan (Kahramanmaras) Mw 7.6 Earthquakes”). Earthquake, Hanshin Earthquake, and New Zealand Earthquake [31; 32] have consistently demonstrated that both strong motion observations and numerical simulations indicate a concentration of intense ground motions within a narrow annular region that is centered on the surface projection of the fault [33]. The concentration of strong ground motion is primarily attributed to the geometric attenuation of seismic wave energy radiated from the fault slip source [34]. Analyzing Figure 9, it is evident that the strong ground motions along the fault rupture of this earthquake in Turkey exhibit a clear concentration effect. The distribution of contour lines along the East Anatolian Fault rupture zone exhibits a belt-like pattern, which is consistently observed for peak accelerations in all three directions. The presence of high levels of ground motion in close proximity to active faults indicates a consistent distribution pattern that reflects the characteristics of the fault zone and its seismic activity. The investigation of the correlation between the distribution region of intense ground motion and parameters such as earthquake magnitude, fault depth, fault type, and the rupture process of the fault is of utmost importance in the field of near-fault ground motion research, because it can reveal the spatial variation and complexity of ground motion along a fault zone. In this study, we focus on the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ), which is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault system in Turkey that has experienced several large earthquakes in history. The EAFZ consists of several segments with different geometries, slip rates, and rupture lengths. The EAFZ also exhibits various types of surface ruptures, such as distributed cracks, en echelon fractures, pull-apart basins, and slope failures. These features influence the propagation and amplification of seismic waves along the fault zone. To support our argument that the intensity of near-fault ground motion decreases notably with increasing fault distance, we cite studies by [PERSON] et al. [33] and [PERSON] et al. [34] who utilized dynamic and kinematic source models to investigate the relationship between strong ground motion distribution and parameters such as fault distance and reported consistent results. The statistical analysis in this study focuses on the three-component peak ground acceleration (PGA) data located within a 30 km radius of the fault. The specific details can be found in Table 3. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the average peak acceleration within a 10 km radius of the fault surpasses 500 cm/s\({}^{2}\). Similarly, within a 20 km radius, the average peak acceleration exceeds 200 cm/s\({}^{2}\), while within a 30 km radius, it surpasses 100 cm/s\({}^{2}\). The study also investigates the relationship between peak acceleration and fault distance, as depicted in Figure 10. Clear trends show that peak acceleration significantly attenuates with increasing fault distance.