Selma, AL: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Selma is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. That puts Selma in the 53th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 53% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

How Selma compares

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.087g, short-period spectral response 0.167g, 1-second spectral response 0.078g. Among 107 Alabama cities in this dataset, Selma ranks 67 for seismic hazard, the 38th percentile within the state. About 16,312 people live in Selma, Alabama.

Retrofit economics for Selma

Outside California, no state-level retrofit grant equivalent to Brace + Bolt could be found for Alabama. A typical retrofit still runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally, about $7,000 for a common single-family job.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

Outside California, earthquake coverage is typically sold as an endorsement added to a standard homeowners policy, not a separate product - worth asking about directly when getting a home-insurance quote for a Selma address.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide covers exactly how USGS's public design-maps API produced Selma's numbers. The guide to what a Seismic Design Category actually means covers why a category is never a substitute for an engineer's assessment of one specific house.