Bardstown's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Bardstown in Seismic Design Category C: Moderate seismic hazard. Code adds irregular-building restrictions and requires bracing of some nonstructural components (e.g. tall shelving, water heaters) in addition to structural detailing. Rank it against the rest of the country and Bardstown sits at the 68th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Bardstown compares

USGS's underlying values for Bardstown: 0.084g peak ground acceleration, 0.177g at short period, 0.096g at 1 second. Within Kentucky alone, Bardstown ranks 39 of 79 cities by seismic hazard - the 51th percentile in-state. Bardstown has a population of about 14,104.

What a retrofit costs in Bardstown

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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Bardstown 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 Bardstown's figures come from

Bardstown's Category C 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 C does and doesn't tell you about Bardstown.