Articles
Methodology, regional deep-dives, and how to read earthquake risk data.
Soil conditions change earthquake damage risk because softer or deeper sediments can amplify shaking before it reaches a building foundation. Two buildings near the same fault can experience different motion because their site classes differ.
Building age matters for earthquake risk because it often points to the code era, structural system, retrofit status, and detailing assumptions behind the structure. The same shaking hazard can create different outcomes for different buildings.
A 2% in 50 years seismic hazard value describes a shaking level with about a 2% chance of being equaled or exceeded during a 50-year period. It is a low-probability, high-consequence benchmark used in hazard and engineering context.
An earthquake risk score summarizes long-run local damaging-shaking exposure on a 0 to 10 scale. Read it with shaking probability, site class, fault proximity, spectral acceleration, and building vulnerability.
Fault proximity is one input into earthquake risk, while shaking probability combines fault behavior, regional seismicity, attenuation, and site conditions. A nearby fault can matter, and modeled shaking tells how that hazard may be felt at a location.
The scores on this site show the representative earthquake layer for a local area. Enter a street address to add building age, construction type, roof details, occupancy, surroundings, and property-level context.
Free results for any US street address.