Does Midway, UT need an earthquake retrofit?

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Midway 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 Midway sits at the 84th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Midway by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Midway: 0.261g peak ground acceleration, 0.592g at short period, 0.211g at 1 second. Within Utah alone, Midway ranks 84 of 95 cities by seismic hazard - the 12th percentile in-state. Midway has a population of about 6,064.

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 Utah 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 Utah.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Midway 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 Midway's figures come from

Midway'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 Midway.