Savannah, TN: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Savannah in Seismic Design 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. That puts Savannah in the 83th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 83% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Savannah sits in Tennessee

USGS's underlying values for Savannah: 0.236g peak ground acceleration, 0.452g at short period, 0.193g at 1 second. Within Tennessee alone, Savannah ranks 36 of 104 cities by seismic hazard - the 66th percentile in-state. Savannah has a population of about 7,565.

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 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.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

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 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 Savannah.