Registration Open for 2017 Earthquake Brace + Bolt Program - More Retrofits to Homeowners and More Work to Contractors

Last week the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) opened registration for the fourth year, continuing its annual expansion to provide homeowners up to $3,000 toward a seismic retrofit. This year EBB is providing $6 million in grants to help Pasadena and other vulnerable cities protect their families and secure their older homes against a catastrophic earthquake.

As CEO of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), we are pleased to fund this important program and oversee it along with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. In addition, this year’s program again includes $3 million from the State of California.

Our CEA mission includes helping Californians strengthen and protect their homes with a seismic retrofit. Retrofitting an older house is as important as having earthquake insurance. Both are needed to help you recover quickly after a damaging quake. As an added bonus, a proper seismic retrofit will qualify homeowners for up to a twenty percent discount on their CEA earthquake insurance premium.

EBB grants are available for houses built before 1979 that include a crawl space with unbraced “cripple walls” (low walls between the foundation and first floor) and are not bolted to the foundation. In a strong earthquake, an unbolted house can topple off its foundation and unbraced cripple walls make the crawl space vulnerable to collapse. CEA estimates there are more than 1.2 million of these houses in high-hazard areas in Northern and Southern California.

All qualifying homeowners will be notified in early March if they have been randomly selected or are on the wait list. Wait listed homeowners may be accepted throughout the year.

Once accepted, homeowners will be looking for trained contractors to do their retrofit work. Interested contractors are encouraged to join the EBB Contractor Directory by taking the free FEMA retrofit training offered on the EBB website.

Visit www.EarthquakeBraceBolt.com to register and learn more about the program. Registration is open through February 27.

Glenn Pomeroy

California Earthquake Association CEO