Monmouth, OR: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Monmouth 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 Monmouth sits at the 88th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where Monmouth sits in Oregon

USGS's underlying values for Monmouth: 0.424g peak ground acceleration, 0.902g at short period, 0.461g at 1 second. Within Oregon alone, Monmouth ranks 17 of 80 cities by seismic hazard - the 80th percentile in-state. Monmouth has a population of about 11,651.

What a retrofit costs in Monmouth

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 Monmouth 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 Monmouth's figures come from

Monmouth'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 Monmouth.