Eligible homeowners in California now can register to receive grants of up to $3,000 for "seismic retrofits" of their older homes in an effort to make them more resistant to earthquake damage. Homeowners have until February 23, 2018, to apply for a grant from the Earthquake Brace + Bolt ("EBB") program.

EBB has expanded eligibility this year to 17 additional California cities in high hazard areas, bringing the total to 51. The California Earthquake Authority ("CEA") has provided $6 million in funding for the grants this year, enough to support an additional 2,000 or more code-compliant seismic retrofits.

"The natural disasters of 2017 remind us of the need to be prepared for the major earthquakes that are inevitable in California," said California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "Californians can protect their families by strengthening older homes, which are particularly vulnerable to earthquake damage, and by making sure they have the financial strength to rebuild with earthquake insurance."

Homes with qualifying retrofits are eligible for discounts of up to 20 percent on CEA earthquake insurance premiums.

More than 1.2 million houses in high-hazard areas of California are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because of the type of construction, according to the CEA. These homes are typically built before 1979, have a wood frame on a raised foundation, and have a cripple wall in the crawl space under the house.

"EBB sees increasing momentum and awareness for seismic retrofits among homeowners, local officials, and contractors," said Janiele Maffei, chief mitigation officer of the CEA and executive director of EBB. "By helping kick-start a retrofit movement, we are working to reduce the number of Californians who lose their homes in the next catastrophic earthquake."

In addition to offering the grants, EBB works with local building departments on the permitting process for retrofits and to grow the base of contractors trained to do code-compliant retrofits. The EBB's searchable contractor directory lists almost 900 trained contractors as of the end of 2017.

Typical retrofits for the type of homes currently funded by EBB grants cost between $3,500 and $5,500, and involve bolting the house to its foundation and adding bracing around the perimeter. The cost is minimal compared to earthquake damage, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. In the relatively moderate 6.0-magnitude Napa earthquake of 2014, homeowners received estimates of up to $300,000 to put their houses back on their foundations.