Does McKenzie, TN need an earthquake retrofit?

McKenzie carries Seismic Design Category D under USGS's ASCE 7-16 model. 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, McKenzie ranks above 89% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 89th percentile.

McKenzie by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for McKenzie: 0.46g peak ground acceleration, 0.799g at short period, 0.283g at 1 second. Within Tennessee alone, McKenzie ranks 21 of 104 cities by seismic hazard - the 81th percentile in-state. McKenzie has a population of about 5,603.

What a retrofit costs in McKenzie

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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee.

Earthquake insurance for a McKenzie home

A McKenzie 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 McKenzie's figures come from

McKenzie'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 McKenzie.