Damage description and schematic crack propagation in Colonial Churches and old masonry buildings by the 2017 Puebla-Morelos earthquakes (Mw = 8.2 and 7.1)

• Observed damages during post-earthquake investigations on Colonial Churches. • Damage identification and failure propagation on different masonry elements. • Schematic representation of cracks/failure patterns in several structural elements. • Crack propagation in arches, vaults, domes, bell towers, belfries and façades. • Valuable insights to propose suitable rehabilitation and retrofitting works. This paper aims to describe the observed damage and crack propagation in patrimonial masonry buildings of Puebla and Morelos, Mexico due to both September 7 (M w = 8.2) and 19 (M w = 7.1) 2017 earthquakes. Historical masonry buildings are earthquake prone structures due to the missing structural integrity by the low tensile strength of masonry, heavy inertial forces, large openings and structural elements with different in-plane and out-of-plane behavior, especially when detached from the rest of the building. The two large seismic events damaged 2340 architectural heritage buildings, mainly in the States of Puebla, Morelos and Mexico. The observed damages during post-earthquake investigations ranged from moderate to heavy, with partial and total collapses, mainly in vaulted systems and bell towers. The presented damage identification and failure propagation description allowed to generate practical schematic representations of crack patterns in several structural elements such as domes, vaulted covers, façades, bell towers and so on, providing valuable information that can be useful to propose suitable rehabilitation and retrofitting works. The 2017 earthquakes also generated uncountable damages in different cultural assets including retables, painted murals and bells, being of great cultural and historical value. The main causes of the observed damages in masonry structures are also due to the lack of maintenance, previous structural modifications and inadequate interventions. Continuous and correct maintenance of structures is indispensable to reduce the possible damages due to earthquakes. Thus, a detailed structural assessment of the buildings is always necessary to carry out an adequate intervention according to the criteria of restoration.