Belfast, ME: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Belfast in Seismic Design Category B: Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Belfast ranks above 63% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 63th percentile.

Where Belfast sits in Maine

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.17g, short-period spectral response 0.285g, 1-second spectral response 0.073g. Among 20 Maine cities in this dataset, Belfast ranks 15 for seismic hazard, the 26th percentile within the state. About 6,993 people live in Belfast, Maine.

What a retrofit costs in Belfast

Outside California, no state-level retrofit grant equivalent to Brace + Bolt could be found for Maine. A typical retrofit still runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally, about $7,000 for a common single-family job.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

Outside California, earthquake coverage is typically sold as an endorsement added to a standard homeowners policy, not a separate product - worth asking about directly when getting a home-insurance quote for a Belfast address.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide covers exactly how USGS's public design-maps API produced Belfast's numbers. The guide to what a Seismic Design Category actually means covers why a category is never a substitute for an engineer's assessment of one specific house.