Mount Washington's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Mount Washington is Category C. Moderate seismic hazard. Code adds irregular-building restrictions and requires bracing of some nonstructural components (e.g. tall shelving, water heaters) in addition to structural detailing. Nationally, Mount Washington ranks above 68% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 68th percentile.

How Mount Washington compares

USGS's underlying values for Mount Washington: 0.089g peak ground acceleration, 0.184g at short period, 0.097g at 1 second. Within Kentucky alone, Mount Washington ranks 35 of 79 cities by seismic hazard - the 56th percentile in-state. Mount Washington has a population of about 18,863.

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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky.

What this means for insurance

A Mount Washington 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 Mount Washington's figures come from

Mount Washington's Category C 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 C does and doesn't tell you about Mount Washington.