Savannah's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Savannah in Seismic Design 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. Rank it against the rest of the country and Savannah sits at the 75th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Savannah compares

USGS's underlying values for Savannah: 0.154g peak ground acceleration, 0.285g at short period, 0.107g at 1 second. Within Georgia alone, Savannah ranks 14 of 148 cities by seismic hazard - the 91th percentile in-state. Savannah has a population of about 148,808.

Retrofit economics for Savannah

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 Georgia 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 Georgia.

What this means for insurance

A Savannah 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 Savannah's figures come from

Savannah'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 Savannah.