Anacortes, WA: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Anacortes in Seismic Design Category D: High seismic hazard - this is the category most of coastal California, the Pacific Northwest, and other active fault regions fall into. Code mandates significant seismic detailing and restricts irregular structural configurations. This is the category the Brace + Bolt scope (cripple-wall bracing, foundation bolting) is built for. Nationally, Anacortes ranks above 90% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 90th percentile.

Anacortes by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Anacortes: 0.489g peak ground acceleration, 1.149g at short period, 0.408g at 1 second. Within Washington alone, Anacortes ranks 70 of 125 cities by seismic hazard - the 44th percentile in-state. Anacortes has a population of about 18,148.

Retrofit economics for Anacortes

A full earthquake retrofit typically runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally (around $7,000 typical), driven mainly by house size and foundation type, not by Washington specifically. California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant, which covers a large share of this cost, is a California-only program and does not apply in Washington.

Earthquake insurance for a Anacortes home

A Anacortes homeowner cannot buy a standalone earthquake policy in most cases - it is added to an existing homeowners policy as an endorsement, so the place to start is a regular home-insurance quote.

Where Anacortes's figures come from

Anacortes's Category D and every number above trace to USGS's own ASCE 7-16 Design Maps service - see the methodology guide. See the category explainer for what Category D does and doesn't tell you about Anacortes.