Farmington, AR: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Farmington 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. Nationally, Farmington ranks above 67% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 67th percentile.

Farmington by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Farmington: 0.074g peak ground acceleration, 0.156g at short period, 0.089g at 1 second. Within Arkansas alone, Farmington ranks 56 of 68 cities by seismic hazard - the 18th percentile in-state. Farmington has a population of about 10,473.

What a retrofit costs in Farmington

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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Farmington 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 Farmington's figures come from

Farmington's Category C 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 C does and doesn't tell you about Farmington.