Does Biddeford, ME need an earthquake retrofit?

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Biddeford is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. That puts Biddeford in the 64th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 64% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

How Biddeford compares

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.171g, short-period spectral response 0.288g, 1-second spectral response 0.071g. Among 20 Maine cities in this dataset, Biddeford ranks 12 for seismic hazard, the 42th percentile within the state. About 22,370 people live in Biddeford, Maine.

Retrofit economics for Biddeford

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.

Earthquake insurance for a Biddeford home

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 Biddeford address.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide covers exactly how USGS's public design-maps API produced Biddeford'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.