Does Clover, SC need an earthquake retrofit?

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Clover in Seismic Design Category C: Moderate seismic hazard. Code adds irregular-building restrictions and requires bracing of some nonstructural components (e.g. tall shelving, water heaters) in addition to structural detailing. That puts Clover in the 71th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 71% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Clover sits in South Carolina

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.115g, short-period spectral response 0.22g, 1-second spectral response 0.086g. Among 66 South Carolina cities in this dataset, Clover ranks 66 for seismic hazard, the 0th percentile within the state. About 7,558 people live in Clover, South Carolina.

Retrofit economics for Clover

Outside California, no state-level retrofit grant equivalent to Brace + Bolt could be found for South Carolina. A typical retrofit still runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally, about $7,000 for a common single-family job.

Earthquake insurance for a Clover home

Outside California, earthquake coverage is typically sold as an endorsement added to a standard homeowners policy, not a separate product - worth asking about directly when getting a home-insurance quote for a Clover address.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide covers exactly how USGS's public design-maps API produced Clover's numbers. The guide to what a Seismic Design Category actually means covers why a category is never a substitute for an engineer's assessment of one specific house.