Hermiston, OR: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Hermiston is 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. Rank it against the rest of the country and Hermiston sits at the 81th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Hermiston compares

USGS's underlying values for Hermiston: 0.173g peak ground acceleration, 0.385g at short period, 0.148g at 1 second. Within Oregon alone, Hermiston ranks 71 of 80 cities by seismic hazard - the 11th percentile in-state. Hermiston has a population of about 19,746.

What a retrofit costs in Hermiston

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 Oregon 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 Oregon.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Hermiston 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 Hermiston's figures come from

Hermiston'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 Hermiston.