Kirkland's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Kirkland 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. That puts Kirkland in the 91th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 91% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Kirkland by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Kirkland: 0.536g peak ground acceleration, 1.262g at short period, 0.44g at 1 second. Within Washington alone, Kirkland ranks 43 of 125 cities by seismic hazard - the 66th percentile in-state. Kirkland has a population of about 95,499.

Retrofit economics for Kirkland

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 Washington 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 Washington.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Kirkland 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 Kirkland's figures come from

Kirkland'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 Kirkland.