Miami Gardens, FL: what USGS's seismic model says

Miami Gardens carries Seismic Design Category A under USGS's ASCE 7-16 model. Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Nationally, Miami Gardens ranks above 2% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 2th percentile.

Miami Gardens by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Miami Gardens: 0.02g peak ground acceleration, 0.042g at short period, 0.021g at 1 second. Within Florida alone, Miami Gardens ranks 183 of 228 cities by seismic hazard - the 20th percentile in-state. Miami Gardens has a population of about 116,173.

Retrofit economics for Miami Gardens

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 Florida 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 Florida.

Earthquake insurance for a Miami Gardens home

A Miami Gardens 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 Miami Gardens's figures come from

Miami Gardens'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 Miami Gardens.