California program offers money for earthquake protection

By Paul Dudley

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    CALIFORNIA (KSBW) — There is a new program where people can get cash to pay for earthquake protection. The ‘Brace and Bolt’ program gives eligible homeowners money to pay for what is known as a ‘seismic retrofit.’ The idea is to lessen the potential for damage during an earthquake.

Like most California homeowners, Olivia Winter worries about earthquakes and the damage they could do to her Watsonville home.

“I think earthquakes are a real possibility, especially a big one that can be catastrophic,” said Winter.

This is exactly why Winter applied for funding from the California Earthquake Authority’s Brace and Bolt program.

“It feels like a no-brainer. It’s just such a cheap way to make your house more stable,” said Winter.

The program provides up to $3,000 to homeowners for the retrofit of the crawlspace of older houses.

“We define older as pre-1980,” said Janiele Maffei with the California Earthquake Authority. “I tell people that if you have a pre-1980 house, you might have this vulnerability. If your house is pre-1940, you do have this vulnerability.”

The program pays for the foundation to be bolted to the frame of the house and puts plywood around the crawl space.

“When we do this retrofit, we significantly decrease the likelihood that (the house) will come off its foundation,” said Maffei. “(It) increases the likelihood that you can shelter in place after an earthquake.”

The Brace and Bolt program received $80 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has retrofitted 17,000 houses with plans to do another 17,000.

“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage reduced to hopefully cosmetic damage, not earthquake-proof by any stretch, but certainly increase the likelihood of being able to stay in that house after an earthquake,” Maffei said.

Winter says the process of getting approved involved a few steps. She applied, was approved, went through a search process for a contractor and got some bids. Winter had to front the money first but says the Brace and Bolt program reimbursed her.

“Once the inspection was done and the work was complete, we submitted that information back to the earthquake Brace and Bolt program and they reimbursed us within a couple of months.”

In order to qualify, you need to own your home. Qualifying also depends on the location of your home, when it was built and if your house has a raised foundation or crawl space under the house. You can learn more about qualifying at earthquakebracebolt.com.

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