Maplewood's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Maplewood in Seismic Design 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. Nationally, Maplewood ranks above 83% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 83th percentile.

Where Maplewood sits in Missouri

USGS's underlying values for Maplewood: 0.247g peak ground acceleration, 0.435g at short period, 0.158g at 1 second. Within Missouri alone, Maplewood ranks 23 of 135 cities by seismic hazard - the 84th percentile in-state. Maplewood has a population of about 8,077.

Bracing and bolting: the actual cost

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 Missouri 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 Missouri.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Maplewood 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 Maplewood's figures come from

Maplewood'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 Maplewood.