California program offering cash to retrofit homes for earthquakes. Here's who's eligible

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Homeowners in particularly earthquake-vulnerable neighborhoods across the Southland could receive grants of up to $3,000 to help offset the cost of seismic retrofitting under a California Earthquake Authority program that began accepting applications this week.

The Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant program is available to residents in 395 ZIP codes across the state, including a host of Southern California neighborhoods. The $5 million program will offer the $3,000 grants to about 1,700 homeowners.

Homeowners with a household income at or below $72,080 could also qualify for supplemental grants that could potentially cover the full cost of seismic upgrades.

"Bolting houses to their foundations and bracing the crawl space walls can help Californians protect their families, their homes and their investments,'' Janiele Maffei, chief mitigation officer of the California Earthquake Authority, said in a statement. "We're pleased to extend additional support to income-eligible homeowners to help cover up to 100% of the cost of a seismic retrofit, and we encourage all eligible homeowners in EBB ZIP Codes to apply for funding now.''

A complete list of eligible ZIP codes is available here.

Applications for the grants can also be made online at www.earthquakebracebolt.com. Applications are due by Dec. 1.

Eligible ZIP codes are chosen based on seismic risk and concentrations of older homes.

Since the EBB program was established in 2013, more than 15,700 homeowners have received assistance grants for retrofit projects, according to the state.