Whitewater's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Whitewater is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Rank it against the rest of the country and Whitewater sits at the 21th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Whitewater compares

USGS's underlying values for Whitewater: 0.041g peak ground acceleration, 0.084g at short period, 0.051g at 1 second. Within Wisconsin alone, Whitewater ranks 21 of 157 cities by seismic hazard - the 87th percentile in-state. Whitewater has a population of about 16,076.

Retrofit economics for Whitewater

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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Whitewater 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 Whitewater's figures come from

Whitewater's Category B 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 B does and doesn't tell you about Whitewater.