Greenwood's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Greenwood 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. Rank it against the rest of the country and Greenwood sits at the 72th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Greenwood by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Greenwood: 0.127g peak ground acceleration, 0.254g at short period, 0.126g at 1 second. Within Mississippi alone, Greenwood ranks 19 of 61 cities by seismic hazard - the 70th percentile in-state. Greenwood has a population of about 13,627.

Retrofit economics for Greenwood

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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi.

Earthquake insurance for a Greenwood home

A Greenwood 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 Greenwood's figures come from

Greenwood'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 Greenwood.