Does Half Moon Bay, CA need an earthquake retrofit?

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic model can't even fit Half Moon Bay onto its standard code table - ground motion here (peak ground acceleration 0.881g) is past what the table covers, which under §11.4.8 means a site-specific geotechnical study, not a standard letter grade. Rank it against the rest of the country and Half Moon Bay sits at the 99th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where Half Moon Bay sits in California

USGS's underlying values for Half Moon Bay: 0.881g peak ground acceleration, 2.105g at short period, 0.802g at 1 second. Within California alone, Half Moon Bay ranks 52 of 429 cities by seismic hazard - the 88th percentile in-state. Half Moon Bay has a population of about 11,324.

What a retrofit costs in Half Moon Bay

Cripple-wall bracing and foundation bolting - the scope California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) grant funds - typically runs $3,000-$7,000 nationally. Every qualifying household gets a $3,000 base grant, which brings that down to $0-$4,000 out of pocket; income-eligible households ($89,040/year or under) can get up to $10,000 total, covering the retrofit outright in most cases.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

Half Moon Bay sits in CEA territory, but CEA earthquake coverage is agent-sold only, never direct - so the real first step for a homeowner here is a standard home-insurance quote, then asking that agent about CEA specifically.

Where Half Moon Bay's figures come from

Half Moon Bay's Category rating and every number above trace to USGS's own ASCE 7-16 Design Maps service - see the methodology guide. Full Brace + Bolt eligibility rules - beyond what this page can check from a ZIP code alone - are in the retrofit cost and grant guide.