## 4 Conclusions  
Sixty residential buildings, representing the Turkish building stock, including old and new three-, four-, five-, six-, seven-, and eight-story buildings designed according to TEC-1975 and TEC-1998, were evaluated according to the TEC-2018 regulations under 23 acceleration records from both near and far regions, with a focus on records closely matching the average conditions of the Kahramanmaras earthquake. The obtained results are summarized below. In this study, no structural irregularities were designed, but it was assumed that such calculations could be performed with proper engineering. Our analytical results revealed that buildings designed according to TEC-1998 demonstrated significantly better seismic performance than those designed under TEC-1975. These newer buildings reached damage thresholds at higher drift ratios and exhibited lower collapse probabilities overall. The overall collapse rate across all motions and both stations was 9.6% for old buildings and 1.96% for new buildings. This difference underscores the significant role of code improvements in enhancing structural performance. When compared to field observations [26], the analytical collapse and heavy damage rate for three-story buildings was calculated as 5.76%, whereas field data reported a higher value of 9.27%, indicating a noticeable underestimation in the numerical model. Similarly, for mid-rise buildings (4-6 stories), the analytical damage ratio (10.98%) was nearly half of the observed rate (18.83%), suggesting that real-world factors such as noncompliance with seismic codes, poor construction practices, or unmodeled irregularities likely contributed to the more severe outcomes. In contrast, for 7-8-story buildings, the analytical collapse ratio (16.63%) slightly exceeded the observed collapse ratio of 14.85%, which may be attributed to the exclusion of shear walls in the analytical models, elements that typically enhance the lateral stiffness and capacity of taller reinforced concrete buildings. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the findings of Ref. [3], who reported that, out of 210,814 reinforced concrete buildings in the province of Kahramanmaras, approximately 48,756 structures either collapsed or were severely damaged, corresponding to a damage rate of around 23%. This value is significantly higher than the analytical estimates of this study, reinforcing the argument that widespread code violations and construction deficiencies played a critical role in the observed destruction. This study was conducted to demonstrate that the devastating consequences of the first mainshock of the Kahramanmaras (Pazarcik-centered) earthquake, which resulted in over 50,000 fatalities, could have been significantly reduced if the existing buildings had been constructed in full compliance with the relevant seismic codes. Although structural irregularities, soil-structure interaction (SSI), and other complex factors were not explicitly modeled, these findings are still sufficient to underscore the seriousness of the current vulnerability in the building stock. These additional aspects should be addressed in future studies to further refine the accuracy and applicability of seismic performance assessments. In summary, this study supports the conclusion that, although Turkish seismic codes have evolved to be more robust, widespread noncompliance, especially in older structures, remains a critical issue. Moreover, empirical fragility models such as those developed here can play a key role in understanding and mitigating seismic risk across varying structural types and regions. Conceptualization, I.O. ; methodology, I.O. ; software, I.O. ; validation, I.O. ; formal analysis, I.O. ; investigation, I.O. ; writing, I.O. and M.O. ; supervision, I.O. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. This research received no external funding. Not applicable. The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.