Cuero's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Cuero in Seismic Design Category A: Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Rank it against the rest of the country and Cuero sits at the 10th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Cuero by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Cuero: 0.028g peak ground acceleration, 0.059g at short period, 0.028g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, Cuero ranks 289 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 25th percentile in-state. Cuero has a population of about 8,215.

What a retrofit costs in Cuero

A full earthquake retrofit typically runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally (around $7,000 typical), driven mainly by house size and foundation type, not by Texas specifically. California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant, which covers a large share of this cost, is a California-only program and does not apply in Texas.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Cuero homeowner cannot buy a standalone earthquake policy in most cases - it is added to an existing homeowners policy as an endorsement, so the place to start is a regular home-insurance quote.

Where Cuero's figures come from

Cuero's Category A and every number above trace to USGS's own ASCE 7-16 Design Maps service - see the methodology guide. See the category explainer for what Category A does and doesn't tell you about Cuero.